


/w 



PROJECTS FOR THE 
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 



Sample Materials for Grades Four, Five and Six 



Edited by Chari.es H. E1.1.10TT 
and Charles S. Crow 



PUBLISHED BY 
^tate mutwerftit^ of Slew ^ereej, 

NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY 



These projects have been planned, developed and 
reported by those New Jersey teachers enrolled in 
the Extension Courses in tl-^e Project Method of 
Instruction. 



Copyright 192 1 by Charles S. Crow and 
Charles H. Elliott 



Copies of this bulletin are sold at 25 cents each. 
They may be ordered from the Director of Ex- 
tension Courses, Box 93, 'New Brunswick. New 
Jersev. 



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LB 1027 
E44 ^lOV-^'^ 



Preface 

This bulletin is similar in plan and purpose to State College 
Publication, Second Series, No. 4, which includes sample projects 

Dr the kindergarten, the first, second and third grades. The 

resent issue offers a series of materials for grades four, five 

nd six. 

These projects have been developed in our Extension 

bourses in the Project Method of Instruction. Each teacher 
pursuing the course has been required to plan a project and, with 
the permission of her supervisors, work it out in her classroom. 
A full report of the undertaking of such scope as to be helpful to 
other teachers of the subject or grade has been rendered in each 
case. We are convinced that one method for bringing about 
"ntelligent progress in education consists in making available to 
teachers generally samples of the best work done in the public 
schools in the form of carefully prepared outlines and bibliog- 
raphies, suggested sources of materials, standards of achieve- 
ment, sample projects, and the like. We feel tliat the projects 
which follow do represent some of the best work now being 
attempted in the New Jersey schools. 

We desire to express our thanks to the county superintend- 
ents, city superintendents, principals, and presidents of teachers' 
organizations who have co-operated in the organization of our 
Extension Courses, and who by their untiring efforts have con- 
tributed so much to making them a success. 

THE EDITORS 



Lumbering 

Riith Carver, fourth Grade, School No. ^, Linden, N. J. 

Situation 

During a lesson on forest fires, studied in connection with 
fire-prevention, one boy said he had Hved near a forest in New 
York State. He also spoke of a lumber camp there. The chil- 
dren became interested, and' almost all had something to con- 
tribute or ask about. I recognized the possibility there for a 
project. 

Teacher's Preparation * 

My first task was to become farniliar with the subject 
myself. I therefore studied Bryant's book called "Logging," as 
well as others. Then came the work of collecting and eliminat- 
ing. Going over the courses of study as outlined in the State 
Monographs was a great help. As a guide I made an outline for 
my own use. I also borrowed pictures from the library. The 
large ones were placed about the room, while the small ones were 
kept to use in the lantern. 

Purposing 

As we discussed the numberless uses to which wood is put, 
the children naturally felt the vast importance of luml^ering. 
Someone expressed the desire to work in a lumber camp when he 
grew up. Others shared his desire. A little girl suggested that 
we take a "make-believe" trip to camp, since we could not visit 
one in reality. So the class decided to organize into a lumber 
crew and start an imaginary camp themselves. 

Planning 

They decided to carry out their project just as real lumber- 
men would do. They discussed what they believed to be the 
necessary steps, and, with several questions from me, made out 
the following outline, which they kept on the blackboard during 
the entire project : 

1. Where to locate — 

a. State. 

b. Camp site. 

2. Preparation necessary — 

a. Men. 

b. Tools. 

c. Food. 



3- Trip— 

a. Route. 

b. Cost. 

4. Building the camp. 

5. Preparing the lumber. 

Activities 

The first task the children had set for themselves was to 
decide upon a location. At this point they must have felt the 
need of knowing more geography. They were certainly at sea. 
Someone suggested that a map showing the lumber regions was 
in their text book. Although we have no home work in the 
fourth grade, they elected to assign each row a certain lumber 
district to find out about. The next day, in the English period, 
they were to tell the class what they could about this particular 
district. 

I placed a number of my own geographies and some bor- 
rowed from other classrooms upon my desk. That night prac- 
tically the whole class remained in voluntarily. Following the 
oral discussion the next day the children voted upon the State of 
Washington in which to locate their camp. The argument that 
they would have to cross the States seemed to have won the point. 

During our next hygiene period we discussed the require- 
ments for a good camp site. Drainage, water supply, sanitation 
and food supplies were the chief topics. 

Now that the location was settled we discussed what men 
we would need. To do this the children had to find out the 
various steps in the lumbering process. They appointed a com- 
mittee to look this up. They finally elected a manager, inspectors 
and markers, fellers, haulers, jammers, a cook, and a blacksmith. 
The boy who had lived near a lumber camp was chosen manager. 

During another lesson the children discussed what they 
would need in the line of tools and other implements. To make 
sure that nothing necessary was omitted, they appointed another 
committee to look into this. By the aid of a catalog we deter- 
mined the total cost of these. 

In connection with our hygiene we studied about foods, the 
kind most suited for lumber men, and the most economical form 
in which to transport it. 

Now that we had made all preparations we began to talk 
about our trip, the route, cost, etc. It was argued that we should 
make the journey by water, as it would be much cheaper, but, as 
many expressed a fear for the ocean and others wished to see the 
cattle ranches in the west, we decided to go by rail. At this time 
we were studying letter-writing. Each one wrote a letter to the 
Northern Pacific Railway Company to inquire the cost by rail 



from New York to Seattle. The class chose the best one by vote 
and sent it. We received a courteous letter from the railway 
company, which the children prize very highly. 

To make our trip more real, we traced our route on the rail- 
road map. We discussed the sections of country through which 
we would pass. Pictures also aided greatly. This was, however, 
review, for we had already studied it in a brief way. 

Finally we arrived at the camp. In order to image the 
pitching -of the camp as nearly as possible the children made 
miniature ones on a large box lid. They made the necessary 
buildings from twigs, representing the bunk house, mess shanty, 
blacksmith shop, storehouses, barn, office and general store. 
Twigs stuck down in the soil (some marked to be felled) served 
as trees. Tiny men, dressed for lumbering, worked at their 
various occupations. A mirror served as ^ river. One man 
worked diligently trying to straighten out the jam in the river, 
while another was busy driving a load of logs down to the stream. 
While several children at one time worked on the little camp, the 
others drew pictures of one. 

The nearest thing to actually doing the work connected with 
the camp was to dramatize it. This we did, beginning with rising 
from the bunks in the morning, washing, preparing the food, 
breakfasting, selecting and marking the trees, felling, cutting into 
logs, hauling to the stream, straightening out a jam, the return 
home, dining, and finishing with the various events of the evening. 
We did not forget the work done at the mill. 

Last of all we showed pictures in the lantern. Pictures of 
everything they had studied were in the collection, as well as 
many more, including pictures showing the making of various 
articles of furniture. As each picture appeared the children were 
delighted with their familiarity with it and with their ability to 
discuss it as it was exhibited upon the screen. 

Course of Study 

Language. The emphasis in the fourth grade should be 
upon oral language, according to the course of study. This proj- 
ect provided for a great deal of this. Another requirement is 
written composition in the form of the letter. The class did their 
best work in letter-writing in connection with this project. They 
also received practice in planning and outlining. In this the 
paragraph idea was emphasized. 

Arithmetic. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing 
money is a part of the requirements for our grade. This. I 
believe, was satisfied by finding the cost of supplies and the cost 
of transporting the class to Washington. 



Reading. Much silent reading had to be done in connection 
with each step of the work. Effective work resuhed because each 
had a problem and a motive for doing it. As the number of 
copies of each book was limited, some oral reading was necessary. 

Hygiene. This included the drainage, water supply, sanita- 
tion and food necessary for a modern lumber camp. 

Geography. The project itself was primarily geography. 
The monograph calls for at least two projects. This, therefore, 
covered half the requirement. The subject is a suitable one, as 
the work for this grade is world geography. 

Spelling. We learned the words which the children needed 
in connection with the letters. 

Comments 

This project was more than a correlation of subjects. We 
tried to present a real life situation as far as possible. It must 
have seemed real to the children, for when we were planning the 
camp and writing a real letter, some of the children asked if we 
were truly going to start a camp. 

The interest was splendid. We never had a better spirit in 
work displayed. More children remained to work voluntarily 
after school and showed a greater effort in whatever they under- 
took. 

The attitude was whole-hearted. Real lumbermen could 
scarcely go about it more sincerely. Most of the work was done 
in co-operation with others, the building of a camp, and com- 
mittees working together for information. The children felt 
their responsibility, for in many cases the following day's work 
depended upon their reports. 

The children learned the value of books. They had to use 
the table of contents and the index, as the work was very often 
scattered throughout the book. 

The work of the lumbermen provided for much dramatiza- 
tion. The drawing and making of articles for the miniature 
camp was correlated with handwork. 

References 

Logging, Ralph Clement Bryant; published by John Wiley 
& Sons, Inc. 

The Earth and Its People. I. O. Winslow ; published by 
D. C. Heath & Co. 

North America, Third Part. Tarr & McMurray, The Mac- 
Millan Co. 

United States, Nellie B. Allen ; published by Ginn & Co. 



Three Star Ranch 

Elsa A. Voigt, Fourth Grade, Harrison School, Trenton, N. J. 

Situation 

The fourth grade geography course inchides a study of 
"Needs of Man," — food, clothing and shelter. The class had 
taken up the study of foods first and having completed the study 
of grains were ready to start on another project. 

There was no definite start to this project, because, all 
during the study of wheat and corn, references were made to 
cattle and pig raising and long before we had completed the study 
of those foods, interest was greatly aroused i« the study of meat. 

The study of grains was completed just before the Christ- 
mas season. After the holidays, during a discussion of the 
Christmas dinner when the children enjoyed telling about the 
lives of some of the things they ate, such as bread, potatoes, 
corn, cranberries and chicken, they found that those children who 
had had beef could not tell much about the lives of the cattle 
that were killed for meat. Added to the interests mentioned 
before, this made them wholeheartedly interested in finding out 
all they could about cattle. 

Activities 

In their previous food projects they had made a list of all 
the things they would like to know on the subject and they again 
suggested the same method this time. One pupil was chosen 
by the class to write the topics on the blackboard and the chil- 
dren told him their questions. The topics given jumped from 
one phase of the study to another; but, when the entire list was 
on the blackboard, the pupih put them in more systematic order. 
When the writer could not spell a word and no one in the class 
could help him, I would spell the word and then write it in a list 
to be used for the spelling lesson. When the list of problems 
was completed, the pupils copied it in their individual "Foods" 
booklet to be used as reference in their reading. The following 
are some of the topics: i. Where is the home of the cattle? 
2. How are they raised? 3. How are they branded? 4. What 
do cowboys do? 5. How are the cattle taken from their homes? 
6. Where are they sent? 7. How are they killed? The rest of 
the topics centered around the stockyard and slaughter house 
activities. 

The idea of forming committees had been used during 
their other projects, so they now adapted themselves to it very 

8 



readily and showed initiative in naming, forming and joining 
various committees. 

Long before we had finished our study of grains, the children 
had suggested having a ranch on the sandtable and the Ranch 
Committee was now formed. They also wanted to make stock- 
yards ; but, since my class is a part-time class, I had to tell them 
we would not have time. They volunteered to work before and 
after school, but this could not be done because the room is con- 
stantly occupied from eight o'clock until four. The work could 
not be done in the corridor after our school hours because the 
top of my desk was to act as a sandtable and that was too heavy 
to be moved in and out of the room. When they could not show 
all about the life of a cow on the sandtable a child suggested 
making a class book and calling it "The Life of a Cow." This 
then led to having another committee formed called the "Book 
Committee." To this group the children gave pictures, new^spaper 
articles, drawings, maps and stories. Some pictures brought 
from the library, and those from my own collection made quite a 
number to be mounted and displayed, so a "Picture Committee" 
was formed. 

Near the school is a large butcher shop and a slaughter 
house. A group of children volunteered to go there and tell the 
class what they saw. This formed another committee 

The entire class worked on the "Information Committee," 
each one choosing the topic, from the list, on which he would 
like to report. The cowboy topics naturally were most popular, 
so sometimes I would have to assign some topics so as to have 
several working on one topic. The books supplied in school 
were "How the World is Fed," — Carpenter; "How We Are 
Fed," — Chamberlain; "Around the World," — Carroll; "Our 
Country," — Buckbee, and Tarr and McMurray Geography, Part 
L Many books were taken out of the Free Public Library re- 
lating to the work and these were constantly in use while they 
were in the schoolroom. 

When sufficient time had been given during silent and oral 
reading periods for the children to acquire enough information 
for reports, such reports were given and questions asked by the 
pupils from those giving reports. In other words there were 
very interesting class discussions; and information was given 
which they had received from books, moving pictures, from their 
parents, from a brother of a member of the class who had been 
a cowboy, from the butcher, from the boys who had visited the 
slaughter house and from pictures. 

During the course of the discussion about the ranch life 
the work on the miniature ranch was begun. While some chil- 
dren were occupied with making the ranch, others were writing 

9 



stories for their books or mounting pictures. The stories were 
on varied subjects such as "My Visit to a Friend in Colorado," 
"Branding," "A Visit to a Stockyard," "Life of a Cow," "When 
I Lived in Montana," "The Story a Piece of Beef Told Me," 
"What I Saw at the Slaughter House." 

Course of Study 

Throughout the whole study the children were intensely in- 
terested, and all of the subjects naturally correlated themselves 
with the work. 

The arithmetic work was based on the prices of meat. 
Whenever a child bought meat for the folks at home, the fol- 
lowing day she would give the class that problem The problems 
given reviewed the tables of weight and money, gave practice in 
the four fundamentals and gave opportunity Tor good language 
work. 

The language work was based on oral reports and discus- 
sions about the subject and written stories for their class book. 
As mentioned before, the wording of their individual arithmetic 
problems gave training in good clear language usage. 

The spelling words studied were the new words they needed 
in writing their stories and in printing signs for their ranch. 

Health and civics were taught by a discussion of why city 
people are not allowed to raise pigs or cows. Bad effects of 
eating too much meat and the need of having meat inspected were 
also discussed. Much information had been received from chil- 
dren who had seen moving pictures of western life. This led to 
a discussion of the value of moving pictures and also the danger 
to health in going too often especially to night performances. 

The study of the Pioneers who went west and raised cattle 
was very interestingly and directly related to their history study 
of "Pathfinders." 

At first it looked as if we would not have our music re- 
lated to the work because neither the children nor I could find 
a suitable song. We did find a song called "The Train," which 
we learned when we were discussing the transportation of the 
cattle, but the children wanted a song about cowboys. We had 
just completed a Health Project in which we had written little 
verses to popular melodies. They wanted to do that again so 
they wrote a song about the cowboy. 

The drawing work consisted in drawing pictures and maps' 
for their book, and the making of articles for the "Three Star 
Ranch." 

Their reading was for the purpose of finding out how to 
make and improve their ranch and write good stories for their 
book. The reading m.aterial, as mentioned before, was in a great 



variety of books. Some were supplied by the school and others 
came from the Public Library or from the homes of the children. 
Because of this, their were many very interesting "give and take" 
discussions which were followed by a desire to read each other's 
books. 

In getting their stories in good form for the book, they had 
a great desire to write well, and their writing showed marked 
improvement. 

The project was primarily a geography project and beside 
the general information gained about cattle raising, selling, etc., 
the children learned a great deal about transportation, both on 
land and sea ; and the interest aroused was carried over to their 
further meat study of pigs and sheep. 

Throughout the study, the children showed their initiative 
by bringing in pictures, samples of the by-products of cattle, 
[such as, buttons, glue and leather] and by making new articles 
for the miniature ranch. Much to my pleasure, some retarded 
boys were rather intensely interested in making things which had 
not been mentioned in class such as hitching posts, and direction 
signs. Judgment was called for and developed in the choice 
of the best ranch house made, or the best representations of 
cowboys branding the calves, or in choosing the best stories for 
their book. In recommending books to each other they also 
showed good judgment. 

Comment 

I felt that the project was a success because it was carried 
on with wholehearted self -activity followmg definite purposes. 
It gave opportunity for the judging of values and the organizing 
of ideas and made constant use O'f their past experiences. It 
gave them a desire for new experiences and information, afforded 
many occasions for thinking, tested their knowledge by applica- 
tion, made lasting impressions. I hope, and gave satisfaction in 
achievement. 

Rice 

Mabel Potts, Fourth Grade, McKinley School, Trenton, N. J. 

Aims 

The teacher's aim was to teach the subject of "Rice" and 
bring in World Geography, acquainting the children with the Old 
Hemisphere as well as with the New ; allowing them to discover 
the great superiority of the New World in agriculture, and the 
backwardness and primitiveness of the Old World; and giving 
opportunity for the study of a different people, the Japanese. 

II b 



The pupils' aims were to organize and conduct a club devoted 
to the study of rice; to obtain and provide specimens of rice 
from the time it left the field until it arrived a finished product 
on their tables; and to arrange an exhibit to be held in their 
own classroom ; also, and more important tO' some of their minds, 
to provide the State Museum with the same specimens as an 
exhibit for the children of the State of New Jersey. 

Teachejr's Preparation 

The teacher planned a club; decided how many officers 
there should be, and their duties; also decided upon committees 
necessary for carrying on the work and their duties. 

The project started by the teacher reading over the list of 
geography subjects that the Fourth grade had to cover in their 
course for the year and allowing them to dioose the one they 
wished to study first. 

The teacher then asked about the methods used in their Sun- 
day School for studying, and discovered that most of the little 
Jewish children's Sunday classes were conducted as clubs. The 
pupils volunteered the names and many of the duties of the 
officers. 

Activities 

The class was organized into a Geography Club which met 
during the geography period at least three days a week; many 
weeks it met each day. A president, vice president, secretary, 
assistant secretary, treasurer and assistant treasurer were elected. 
The President presided and asked for reports of the committees, 
and for general information on rice obtained by members of the 
class, and recognized speakers in the discussions which frequently 
resulted from different interpretations being placed upon the same 
article, read by a number of children. 

The Secretary wrote an account of all new^ work, and later 
copied it in her book. 

The Treasurer received contributions of pennies from the 
class, giving a receipt for each amount; kept an account of 
money received and expenditures made in a little treasurer's book 
made by himself out of arithm.etic paper. 

The class was divided into committees. Forty children were 
on the roll, so the class was given the opportunity to tell how 
many children ought to serve on each committee to make all 
committees of the same size. They were allowed to express 
preference and, if possible, to serve on the committee selected. 

Committees and their duties were as follows : 

I. Museum, — visited State House and Cadwallader Park 
Museums, and reported results to club ; planned for the making 
of an exhibit bv the class for the class-room. 



2. Industrial Committee, — as there is no rice industry in 
Trenton for the committee members to visit, they wrote to in- 
dustries in other states to obtain samples and ascertain the prod- 
ucts of rice; visited local grocery stores to inquire about rice; 
reported on preparation of rice for food, thresliing, separating, 
hulling, winnowing, polishing, bagging and shipping. 

3. Library, — visited city library and school library, obtain- 
ing books from each for use of the class; asked the principal, 
teachers and all visitors to tell any item of interest regarding 
rice; collected magazines, newspaper clippings, borrowed books 
and pictures and returned them. They made a Scrap Book and 
Receipt Book, a booklet containing lists of all books and page 
number on which any information about rice could be obtained 
and presented them to Miss Perry, the Curator of the "New Jer- 
sey State Museum. 

4. Atlas Committee, — located countries in which rice 
grows; found the location of countries, islands. States or cities, 
the names of which other members of the club brought in or men- 
tioned in a report ; made simple maps of the two hemispheres, 
showing the rice areas ; named and located the capitols of states 
raising rice, giving information to teacher to use in writing 
addresses of State Departments of Agriculture on the blackboard; 
located important ports of China, Japan, Ceylon and Judia ; 
located important harbors in the Western Hemisphere exporting 
rice and those importing rice ; located the most important har- 
bors in the Hawaiian and the Philippine Islands. 

5. Nature Committee,— found out what kinds of regions 
grow rice; appearance of plant; preparation of soil; planting 
of seed; flooding, care of p'lants, harvesting and threshing. 

6. Use of Rice Committee, — found out in what parts of 
the world the consumption of rice is greater than that of other 
grains and why. Why rice is more adaptable' to tropical coun- 
tries than other grains. Reported the various uses made of other 
portions of the plant than the kernel. 

7. History Committee, — How long ago did the world 
know of rice? Who were the first people to use it ? When was 
rice first introduced into America and how ? Anything else of 
interest in the history of rice. 

8. Rice Farm and Plantation, — studied the appearance of 
the plantations of South Carolina, Georgia, the Gulf States and 
the rice farms of Oriental Countries ; studied the appearance of 
the laborers in various countries, — their dress, homes, food, 
schools, tools, beasts of burden, method of transportation and 
machinery; planned a plantation and Oriental rice farm built by 
the Construction Committee on the sandtable. 



9- Construction Committee, — made a rice farm and planta- 
tion, planned by the Rice Farm and Plantation Committee ; sug- 
gested articles to be made by individuals in the class, supplying 
needed materials for patterns and pictures in the construction 
work. 

lo. Spelling Committee, — made a list, and divided the list 
into groups of ten words needed to write short papers on the 
subject of rice in order to make booklets to keep for themselves ; 
looked up these words in the dictionary ; when completed to the 
committee's satisfaction, gave a list to the teacher to be written 
on the board and the class copied and studied ten words a day 
as a spelling lesson. 

Work Accomplished by Class 

Language Period. The teacher placed •on the board, the 
addresses of the State Boards of Agriculture of Arkansas, Texas, 
Louisianna, and South Carolina. The address of the United 
States Bureau of Agriculture was also given. 

After children wrote the body of their letters asking for 
pamphlets, pictures, samples or any other valuable information 
about rice, the ten best were selected and two children for each 
address filled in the heading of their letters. The best one of each 
was sent excepting in the case of the Louisianna letters; they 
were both so excellent, two were sent. Each letter enclosed 
stamps. 

As Louisiana responded by sending a copy of each of their 
pamphlets to one child and seven to the other, also enclosing- 
copies of "The Rice Journal'' from which the class derived a 
great deal of benefit and pleasure, I will quote the two letters : 

Trenton Public Schools. 
McKinley School. 

Trenton, N. J., Jan. 17, 1920. 
To the Board of Agriculture, Baton Rouge, La. 
Dear Sirs : 

Will you kindly send me some straw and rice that has not been threshed? 
Have you any pamphlets? If you have, will you kindly send some? If you 
have any pictures of the people that work on the farm, at the mills or ma- 
chines, please send me some? Have you any rice rope, rice straw, rice 
tobacco, low land rice, upland rice? Will you kindly send me some of what- 
ever you have about rice? Your friend, 

Albert Benson, 
A pupil of the Fourth Grade. 

Trenton Public Schools. 
McKinley School. 

Trenton, N. J., Jan. 17, 1920. 
To the Board of Agriculture, Baton Rouge, La. 
Dear Sirs : 

We are studying about rice. In our class the teacher has made ten 
committees. I'm in the library committee. I must read books of the library 
and tell the children what I read about rice. Will you please send me some pic- 

14 



tures of some machines, and will you please give me some samples of swamp 
rice, rice straw, rice rope, rice tobacco, low land rice, upland rice. It is not 
for me alone. It is for the children of the other committees. I will be much 
obliged. Will you please send me some unthreshed rice. I will thank you 
very much. Yours truly, 

Paui, Weiss, 
A Pupil of the Fourth Grade. 

The children also wrote to C. E. Grosjeans Rice Milling Co., 
San Francisco, Cal. ; to Bernhardt Fest & Co., San Francisco, 
Cal. ; and to Sterling Milling Co., Memphis, Tenn. 

The first named company sent samples of brown "rice, rice 
flour, white rice, and rough or paddy rice. The second firm sent 
rough rice, brown rice, rice bran, and rice polish. The third 
responded with a sample of rice straw meal. All sent very kind, 
helpful letters, filled with information the children had not been 
able to find in books. The same children who wrote originally, 
answered, thanking the firms for their kind response. 

Household Arts 

One little girl contributed rice, sugar, raisins and nutmeg for 
a rice pudding. The class drew upon the treasury and bought 
four quarts of milk. Different children prepared and measured 
the raisins and various ingredients. They mixed the pudding. 
Others washed the used dishes. The pudding was baked in the 
domestic science room, set out in the snow to cool, and in the 
afternoon the principal was invited to enjoy it with the class. 

Children not employed in the making of the pudding wrote 
of the activities of those employed, and these compositions were 
corrected and copied in their booklets. 

Children brought in various rice recipes for bread, muffins, 
curried rice and kidney beans, and Turkish rice. All were pasted 
in the combination, Recipe and Scrap Book. 

Arithmetic 

During the arithmetic period the teacher placed a list of all 
articles needed to make the recipes on the black-board. The chil- 
dren copied the list and took it home to inquire the price of each. 

It was soon discovered that if they VN^ere bought at. an 
"Economy Store," "Atlantic & Pacific," or any other store of like 
nature, where goods are not delivered, quite a few cents were 
saved on a pound. So two columns were placed beside the list of 
articles and one headed "Price delivered," the other "Price not 
delivered," and when possible a price was placed under each 
heading. 

Each day the cost of a different recipe was worked out in 
the Arithmetic Class. Their rice pudding had cost 59c or about 
2c a plate, 30 children being present that day. 



Below are copies of children's papers, one finding the cost 
of rice fritters, and the other the cost of rice gems. 

Arithmetic Arithmetic 

Albert Melville, March 15, 1920. F. Mancuss, March 22, 1920. 

Rice Fritters Rice Gems 

I cup of rice $0.05 i egg $0.05 

I pt. of milk 08 I cup of milk 04 

3 eggs, 15 I cup of cold boiled rice 05 

1 tablespoon sugar 01 i cup of flour 02 

2 tablespoons of butter 10 i teaspoon of baking powder . . .10 



$0.39 



14 teaspoon of melted butter . . .01 
$0.27 

Industrial Arts 

The Museum Committee visited the State Museum and found 
nothing of rice excepting a small bottle of puffed rice. They 
returned imbued with the idea of having an exliibit of their own, 
making it in their class room and sending duplicates of all sam- 
ples to the State Museum that Miss Perry, the Curator, might 
place them on charts and send them out to the schools of the City 
and the State as she had prepared charts of wool, cotton, and silk. 

The Library Committee asked to be allowed to assist her by 
making a booklet to present to her. 

The Class constructed charts in the regular manual training 
period by covering straw-board about 11 x 13 inches with brown 
Kraft's paper; placed samples in glass jars that had contained 
cold cream; fastened one jar to each chart and after writing a 
description of the article on white-lined paper, pasted it under the 
jar. 

Other charts contained rice rope obtained from a furniture 
store; a pencil containing, in place of an eraser, a little brush 
made of rice straw, from a toy-store ; and a piece of rice tracing 
paper from a stationery store. 

The following articles, the class know, are often made of 
rice paper ; but whether theirs were or not, they were not positive, 
namely, a paper parasol, paper napkin, cigarette papers, and the 
dress of a Japanese doll. 

Club Meetings 

Each day for three days a week a club meeting was held 
between recess and noon. The teacher sat in the back of the 
room, and only came to the rescue of the president if the class 
got beyond him, which it seldom did. 

The efficient manner in which the children conducted the 
meeting was marvelous. The amount of knowledge they showed 
that they had gained from their correspondence, and from the 
books, pamphlets, and magazines which had been placed on the 
window sill by the Library Committee, was truly amazing. 

16 



Manual Training 

Once a week the Club had a free construction period in 
which they dressed clothes pins, pipe cleaners and dolls to repre- 
sent colored help for the South and Japanese men for Oriental 
farms. 

Out of a cigar box they constructed a threshing- machine of 
most improved new type. A "Big Four" motor machine for 
operating the thresher was also made. 

A "Mechano'' set was used in constructing a plow, and a 
"Mechano," set, wood and muslin were used to make a tractor 
such as is used in Arkansas and Louisiana and from which the 
"War Tank" is patterned. 

We did not own a sand table, so one of our boys borrowed 
saw-horses from his father, another a board 8 feet long from 
his father's coal bin, and two boards 8 feet long were borrowed 
from the school mechanic. These were placed on the horses and 
brown paper placed over them and cardboard nailed around the 
edges to prevent dirt from falling on the floor. The top was 
covered with sand given by men working on a new bank building 
near the school. 

On one end of the table they constructed a Japanese rice 
field, on the other a Gulf State plantation. 

In the Japanese rice field, they made ditches through the 
field, covering them with glass to represent water. At one end 
stood an Oriental man letting water on the rice by means of a 
gate ; a very crude affair both in the original and the one made 
by the children. In the field they placed a hand-made plow and 
harrow drawn by oxen, a roller drawn by an elephant, men 
standing in water sowing seed broad-cast by hand, a boat poled 
along by Chinamen, in which was an extra supply of rice in a 
little basket made of raffia by one of the pupils. There was a field 
of rice ready to harvest and Chinamen cutting it with sickles 
made out of wood. As a threshing device, a box on which strips 
of wood had been nailed was used. This was operated by a 
Chinaman pounding the unthreshed straw, on the slats, the kernels 
falling through into the box and the straw remaining without. 

There was a little hut constructed of wood and matting in 
front of which Burma women were sifting the rice through a 
sieve made from a pill-box and piece of window screening, while 
other women were flailing rice on a matting rug. 

The other end of the table had canals running through it 
but in a more orderly fashion. In these fields were the modern 
machines described elsewhere. 



17 



ScHooi. Exhibit 

When the class was ready for the exhibit, they sent invita- 
tions to parents, friends, supervisors, and teachers of the build- 
ing. 

The day of the exhibit the room had been arranged and 
decorated in the following fashion. Across one side, at the top of 
the board, had been hung the rice charts. Beneath them, pasted 
on the board, were pictures loaned by the City Library. Two 
children were appointed to explain to the visitors the charts 
and the pictures. 

Across the front of the room on the blackboard had been 
fastened a hat worth $80, made of rice straw, in the Philippine 
Islands ; Japanese pictures, hand painted, upon rice paper, and 
a colored picture of the rice plant and other grains. A boy 
described these articles to visitors. * 

Across the front of the room, to one side, extended a table 
containing the plantation described above: a little girl told of 
the Japanese field, while each boy who had made an article for 
the rhodern plantation was allowed to explain it. 

Across the third ,side was stretched a brown denim cloth 
and on this were pinned copies of all the letters sent by the chil- 
dren and the firms' answers. Also the coverings of the packages 
were displayed to show how much postage each had required. 
There was the letter from a little girl to her cousin at Camp 
Travis, Texas, and his answer. Below the letters were arith- 
metic papers showing the working out of the cost of the recipes. 
A little girl explained all this side of the room. 

On each desk of the children remaining at their seats, were 
three or four stereoscopic pictures of modern and oriental rice 
field, also a stereoscope. Each child had the booklet he had made. 
Each child that had received pamphlets from Louisiana and 
Washington had these. The treasurer had his book. The secre- 
tary had her book and another child had time tables showing 
steamship lines to Japan and railroads across the United States. 

As the visitors circulated around the room each child was 
enabled to take part in the demonstration. 

The next week the children pasted the letters, arithmetic 
papers and everything that could be pasted into the Scrap Book 
to preserve them. 



18 



Plymouth Village 

Mary A. Manser, Fourth Grade, Harrison School, Trenton, N. J. 

Situation 

Around the first of November, I asked my fourth grade 
what important hohday came during the month. Tfiey told me 
Thanksgiving Day. Then I asked them to tell me some of the 
things they always think of in connection with this day; and 
among various things, they told me that they think of the Pil- 
grims. I was certain that someone would have a knowledge of 
them from some work previously taken up in the lower grades 
and also because much had been appearing in the newspapers 
about the Pilgrim Tercentenary celebrations in various places. 

Purposing 

When I asked the children if they would like to study about 
the Pilgrims, they were most enthusiastic. Next, I told them 
that I wanted to have them do most of the work in gathering 
different facts, stories, pictures or anything relating to these 
people, which they might find. They were intensely interested. 
Then I asked them to suggest ways by which they might receive 
credit for the amount of materials they could collect, for I 
wanted everybody to bring into class just as much as he possibly 
could about the subject in hand. 

Planning 

After much discussion the class decided to have two clubs, 
namely, the Miles Standish and the William Bradford clubs. 
Each of these clubs had a leader and the leaders chose the pupils 
whom they wanted for their clubs. 

It was also decided that the teacher give a star to a chib 
when a member of that organization brought in a picture, a 
clipping or an oral report of something he had read about the 
Pilgrims. I might say right here that when the project ended 
the William ^Bradford club had thirty-six points and the Miles 
Standish club thirty-eight, which goes to show how keenly awake 
everyone was and with what zeal they worked for their respec- 
tive clubs. 

After the clubs were formed, I asked the children to tell me 
some of the things they would like to know about the Pilgrims. 
Here is a list of things they asked about: 

19 c 



1. How the Pilgrim boys and girls dressed. 

2. What kitid of houses they Hved in. 

3. What kind of furniture they had. 

4. What kind of churches they attended. 

5. What sort of schools they had. 

6. The food of the Pilgrims. 

7. How they got their food and where they got it. 

8. Where their ammunition came from. 

9. How they traveled from place to place. 

10. What kind of stores they had. 

11. How they lighted and heated their houses. 

12. Occupations of the Pilgrim men and women. 

13. How the children helped their parents. 

One of the very first lessons on this project was about the 
houses in which the Pilgrims lived. After Ve had discussed 
these, a boy said, "Let's make a village showing the kind of 
houses these people lived in." When I asked the children if 
they wanted to do this, they all very eagerly assented. When I 
told them that the village would need a name and asked for 
suggestions for the same, another boy said, "Let's call it Ply- 
mouth 'cause Pve been there." 

Activities 

So our work with Plymouth Village started. With the 
help of the boy who had been there, we laid out tlie village on 
the sand-table. There was the beautiful bay (a mirror loaned 
by a child) upon w^hich the "Mayflower" lay at anchor, with 
Plymouth Rock near the shore. The road from the bay led to 
the top of the hill upon which were placed the seven little cabins 
with the dreary woods behind them. Everything in the tiny 
enclosed village was covered with snow — houses, trees and 
stumps — and it was so cold that only two or three settlers could 
be seen on the road. These settlers were small dolls which 
some of the pupils had dressed in the usual 1620 costume. 

Everything in the village was constructed by the children 
and nothing was accepted until judged worth while b\' the class 
and allowed to be placed there. 

Course oe Study 

These are the ways in which the project provided for the 
course of study. Eirst, we located Plymouth. Some map study 
was necessary for this. Arithmetic was taken care of by making 
up problems about the number of logs a man could cut in a day, 
and logs necessary for building the cabins. We also found that 
we could tell how many years ago the Pilgrims lahded by sub- 



tracting 1620 from 1920, and with the answer came up the 
reason for observing the Pilgrim Tercentenary. 

The project brought in the early colonial history of our 
country, which the State requires us to teach in the fourth 
grade. Language, also, was involved in the many oral reports 
and discussions and in some written work. 

The story called "The First Thanksgiving" was written on 
the blackboard by the teacher, the sentences having been given 
by the pupils. When this was finished it was copied by the 
pupils, furnishing not only a language lesson but a penmanship 
lesson besides. Other writing lessons were provided for by 
having children suggest short sentences about the Pilgrims. 
Lessons on important words coming up in the various recita- 
tions were given in conftection with spelling. 

For music we learned the song entitled "The First Thanks- 
giving Day." For drawing, a poster was constructed. These 
posters featured Pilgrims, wild turkeys and pumpkins. 

Dramatization worked into our project most naturally and 
very beautifully. It came about as follows : At Thanksgiving 
time the upper grades gave tableaux representing the best 
known pictures such as "Priscilla," "Priscilla and John Alden," 
"Going to Church." etc. There was not enough room in the 
auditorium to invite all grades, so my children did not get a 
view of these tableaux. Nevertheless, their big brothers and 
sisters were taking part; and, by this and also through hearing 
the entertainment much talked about, their desire to do the same 
thing in their own classroom was thoroughly aroused. 

So on the twenty-first day of December (the anniversary of 
the landing) we had the same tableaux in our own room, an 
entertainment to which the parents were invited. I saw both 
groups of tableaux, and feel that my class did as well as the 
fifth and sixth grades. Every detail had been conformed with 
and this, of course, had been brought about by the careful study 
of the pictures which the children themselves had brought in 
when the project first started. The costumes for the tableaux 
were borrowed from the upper grades as our four-hour sessioxis 
did not permit us to spend the time in making our own. 

Results 

As a sort of oral test on what the children had gotten out 
of all this work, I asked them to think about this question: 
"When would you i-ather be living, in 1620 or in 1920 and why?" 
All of their answers lirought out the contrast in conditions then 
and now, contrasts in homes, methods of heating, and lighting, 
means of travel, in fact contrasts in everything old-fashioned and 
everything up-to-date. 

21 



They, however, lost no respect for the Pilgrims, but they 
did acquire a better appreciation of the things that make life 
to-day easier and more enjoyable. These contrasts created a new 
sympathy for the Pilgrims and admiration for them because of 
their pluck in handling their difficulties in a new land. 



Corn and Its Uses 

Bertha Sampson, Pourfli Grade, Jefferson School, Trenton, N. J. 

Purposing 

The teacher aimed to lead the children to see the value of 
corn as a food, its production and uses. The children were in- 
tensely interested in finding out as much about corn and its 
products as they could, also in getting pictures to use in their 
"Corn Booklets." These booklets were made in class, after all 
the material had been gathered. 

The project came from the children while we were studying 
about wheat. Pictures of things made from wheat were being 
collected, and several children brought to class pictures of corn 
flakes. After several children had been told that corn flakes 
were not made of wheat, one little girl asked "What are corn 
flakes made of ?" So the making of corn flakes led to a full study 
of corn. 

Activities 

I placed about twenty-five copies of a book by Carpenter, 
"How the World is Fed," on the table for the children to read. 
After a discussion with the class as to what they would like to 
know about corn, I placed the following topics on the blackboard, 
all of which were suggested by the children, and assigned one to 
each of several groups of children. They were asked to find out 
as much about these as possible. 

1. Where Corn Grows. 

2. How Corn Grows. 

3. Care of Plant While Growing. 

4. How Corn is Harvested. 

5. What Becomes of All the Corn Grown. 

Each member of the class was asked to collect as many pic- 
tures of corn and things made of corn as possible. I suggested 
the use of advertisements in magazines and seed catalogues. T 
myself got several catalogues for the children to use. 

■ As we had used a chart from the State Museum in our study 
of wheat, the children suggested getting one on corn. This was 
done, and several booklets — "Corn and Its Uses," "Process of 



the Manufacture of Corn Products" and "All Made from Corn" 
were also used, which gave the children very valuable informa- 
tion. (The above booklets may be obtained from "The American 
Manufacturers' Association of Products from Corn," 1236 First 
National Bank Building, Chicago, Illinois.) 

The corn chart is very instructive, showing kernels of corn, 
a drawing of a kernel, naming the different parts, and many 
small bottles containing samples of all of the corn products, wnth 
a short description of the same underneath each. 

(This chart is loaned to the schools by the State Museum, 
Trenton, N. J., Dept. of Conservation and Development.) 

The children were very much interested in the chart and 
never seemed to get tired examining it. They themselves brought 
in ears of yellow corn, pop corn, corn flakes, and starch, to show 
me they had some like that on the chart. I let them plant a few 
kernels of corn on cotton to see how corn sprouted; only one 
kernel grew, but it was enough to let the class see. 

As the facts about corn were read and told to the class, the 
children were led by the teacher to pick out the most valuable. 
We worked out an outline to follow in writing the facts for use 
in the booklets. 

The outline contributed by the children was — 

I. Corn as a Food. 

I . America the great corn continent. 
2 The United States raises four-fifths of all corn. 
(Why?) 

3. Names of States in Great Corn Belt. 

4. The story of how Columbus found the Indians using 

corn and took some of the grain back to Europe. 

5. Story of the Pilgrims using corn. 

II. A Corn Field. 

1. Preparation for planting. 

2. Planting (selection of seed). 

3. Cultivating. 

4. Machinery used in harvesting. 

5. How the work is done on farms in the corn belt. 

6. How done on small farms. 
III. Uses of Corn. 

1. Food. 

How corn meal is made (uses). 
Corn on cob. 
Canned corn. 
Cereals, 

2. Food for Animals. 

To fatten cattle. 
Fodder. 

23 



3- Corn Products. 
Starch. 
Alcohol. 
Oil. 
Pith of stalk (for writing paper, varnish, etc.) 

Each child tried to get pictures to illustrate the facts written. 
These were mounted by the children and used in the booklets. 
The covers were drawn and designed by the children themselves, 
some preferring to use pictures. 

Comment 

In all the work the children were very much interested. 
They learned a great deal about corn and its products in such a 
way that I am sure they will not soon forget it. Many questions 
were raised about agriculture and machinery, leading the children 
to bring to class pictures of machinery used in modern farming. 

CouRSi; OF Study 

The course of study in geography for the fourth grade was 
covered, many examples in arithmetic were worked out in con- 
nection with the study, and much work in both oral and written 
language, as well as reading, was done. 

There were many opportunities for problem solving in the 
selection of facts suitable for the booklets, selection of pictures, 
and finally in making the booklet. 

References 

The books most helpful to the class in working out this 
project were Carpenter's "How the World is Fed," booklets from 
the State Museum mentioned above, seed catalogues and maga- 
zines for advertisements. 



From the Ranch to the Table 

Jessie I. Arthur, Fourth Grade, Sherman School, Cranford, N. J. 

Situation 

The project started from a discussion in class concerning 
the high cost of living. The children suggested that laboring 
people seemed to be the poorest. The teacher asked the children 
what kind of food the laborer most needed for his work. They 
thought that they must need meat. 

This led to a discussion of the cost of meats. Committees 
were appointed to visit the local butcher shops and to inquire the 
prices of meats. In the next lesson notes of the different com- 

24 



mittees were compared, and it was found that the cost of beef 
ranked high. 

The teacher asked the children where this meat came from. 
The children at first thought it must come from the nearby farms. 

With the teacher's help, the children discovered that there 
were so many, many people in the United States that the few 
cows from the farms could never begin to supply their needs. 
The questions then arose, "How, then, is there enough meat to go 
around?" "Where does it all come from?" This afforded an 
opportunity to begin a project on "The Ranch." 

Activities 

The children in turns again visited the butchers' shops. This 
time they observed the meat, and drew conclusions in their own 
minds as to various processes through which the beef must have 
gone. Questions arose as to these processes, how the meat got 
to the shops and where it was raised. 

These questions were held in abeyance until the pupils 
progressed to a point in the project where the children could 
answer them for themselves. 

Upon the table were placed books upon the subject of ranch- 
ing. Because the pupils of the fourth grade are rather too young 
to select from a whole book the day's reference, the teacher sug- 
gested certain pages upon the board. During spare moments the 
children read these passages. 

The first reference work done was on the appearance of the 
ranch itself. In the front of the room were hung maps of North 
America, United States and the world. When the discussion was 
taken up in class as to the above subject the children were taught 
to use all three maps freely. Thus the location fit nicely with the 
description of the ranch. The children formed the habit of dis- 
cussing their project freely outside of school, with their parents 
and other adults. 

When the,pupils felt that they knew a ranch and the prairie 
lands, they thought they would like to write a story about it. 
This, they did using any title they wished. 

Type Composition by Sara Stokes 

Scenery on^ the Prairie Land 

"Many are the cattle you see on the low western prairie 
lands. You would have to walk ever so far, however, before 
you might see where they came from. You would then come to a 
ranch. Both far and wide, you can see- cattle eating. You see 
many sun-tanned cowboys on their small horses rounding up 
the stray cows and making a great deal of dust. There are a 
few rough buildings made of logs, in the timber land. You see, 

25 



the ranchman Hkes to build his house there so that he does not 
have to carry the wood far. , In the distance you can see a few- 
purple hills which are very low." 

The children agreed that it would be a good plan to save 
their compositions and make a booklet of them. The teacher 
asked them what else they needed for a good book. They 
thought pictures essential. So, from that time, the children be- 
gan a collection of them. Then they needed covers for the book- 
lets. The making of these was accomplished in their drawing. 
They were allowed to use their originality in this work, too, all 
the figures and letters used were free hand cutting. 

The pupils wished to make a sand table representing a 
ranch. They made the cows out of plasticine, houses out of 
cardboard and tents out of drawing paper. Some of the more 
clever children made prairie schooners at iiome out of old toys. 
The sand table had a background of low purple and blue hills 
made of kindergarten paper mounted upon cardboard. 

In the study of ranch life, every phase was taken up thor- 
oughly. The children gained most of their information through 
their own efforts. Books on cowboy life were suggested. The 
children went to the library and took out such books. When- 
ever they came to a point in the book that suggested the topic 
at hand, they were allowed to read it orally if they read well. 

The Round Ups 

"Every so often, the cowboys ride over the mountains to 
round up the cattle that stray away. This is called the round up. 
They have two round ups a year. There is one in the spring 
which is called the spring round up. Its purpose is to brand the 
young cattle that were boni during the winter. Next comes the 
fall round up. This is to separate the fat cows from the thin 
ones." - Edmund Cooper. 

The next discussion was concerning the removal of the 
cows from the ranch. They talked over those that would be fit 
to go, and where they would be taken. For this the children 
formed investigating committees. The committees were in threes. 
They visited the butchers and other men who might know some- 
thing of the meat business. In the next lesson the committees 
compared notes. In this way, tlie cows were followed from the 
ranch to the stockyard, Texas being the type spot used. Iti 
following up this work, different committees visited the railroad 
stations and inquired as to the railroads that went from Texas 
to Chicago, and which road would be the quickest, and which 
the cheapest. The Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railroad was 
chosen as most adequate. In tracing its course, care of the cattle, 

26 



kind of cars used and method of handling cows were studied as 
well as important cities along the way. Compositions were 
written on "The Trip to the Stock Yard.'' 

The Union Stock Yards were taken up as a study. At this 
point, they wrote letters to Swift and Company, asking for 
material. The children received many pictures for their book- 
lets through these letters as well as an interesting booklet on the 
history of meat packing which they read and compared with 
what they had already learned. 

Interesting pictures for use in the classroom were loaned 
to the pupils by the Department of Agriculture. Washington. 
These were actual photographs of real western ranches. The 
children decided to write to the owner of one of these ranches 
and ask him some questions. 

The next point was to select a city where the beef might be 
sent. The children chose New York City. They took this one 
because of its peculiar advantage as a shipping center. In this 
connection, they used reference books concerning this city, also 
the map as well as inquiring of adults outside of school, reasons 
for New York's growth. 

Committees looked up routes from Chicago to New York 
City, both by water and by rail. The Pennsylvania railroad 
proved the quickest and was used, the children pretending that 
they themselves were taking the journey. Important cities were , 
studied along both the railroad and water routes. From New 
York City, the meat was traced to local butchers and to foreign 
countries. 

Children learned also of the by-products of the meat and 
learned to locate all the nieat packing cities. Maps were made 
of the cattle raising State?, the railroad routes, water ways, and 
important cities. 

Values 

Neatness was an important item in this project as children 
aimed to have only tidy work in their booklets. In order to 
save time, the children became careful about having their work 
correct so as to be ready for the booklets as soon as possible. 

The success of one or two pupils in doing good work in- 
spired the other children to persevere in their work. 

The sense of responsibility developed was remarkable. 
Each committee had its own portion of work to do, and did it, 
and the heads of the committees called their fellow workers to 
account as well. 

The children were interested. They learned a great many 
small facts through the pursuit of one big idea. 

27 d 



Although this was a Geography project, the pupils became 
better English students by the writing of letters and composi- 
tions; also by oral conversation. Through it they drew pictures, 
made cuttings and posters which enlightened them somewhat in 
the field of art. In music, they learned their songs more eagerly 
because they involved their project idea. The story play in 
physical training becam.e more real because it touched a reality 
in their lives. Besides, this project gave the children a longing 
for other knowledge, and initiative in delving into work in a 
more practical way. 

The project meant much recreationally. The children, out 
of pleasure, were constantly on the lookout for material to use 
in their booklets, on the sand table, or to show the class. They 
were happy by having it to think of when out of school. 

As a personal matter, the child gained mifth, for he knew 
the life of the west, the processes of meat and the geography of 
his own country when he had finished; but for the class, the 
project meant much more. It meant team work, helpfulness, 
initiative, interest founded on the principle of a common goal. 

Then, too, the children carried home ideas to their families. 
The parents helped the children in. their search for knowledge. 
The children helped the parents to know more of the wonderful 
commonplace things of life and living. 

The community, in fact fell in with the children and was 
ready to help them in attaining the goal. The children made 
friends with the business men. They were given a look into 
other work of the schools and were made to feel themselves a 
part of the larger school system. 

References 

Carpenter — How the World is Fed. 

McMurray — Type Studies. 

Allan — United' States. 

Pamphlets from Department of Agriculture. 

Swift's Booklet on Meat Packing. 

A Story-Telling Breakfast Party 

Mattie Elliott, Fifth Grade, Bcmardszille, N. J. 

Aims 

Teacher's Aims : 

1. To stimulate interest and put life into the lesson in 
geography. 

2. To teach pupils how easy it really is to get informa- 
tion upon any given subject if one really wants it. 



3- To lead them to see how dependent upon the labor 
of others they are. 
Pupils' Aims: 

1. To give a breakfast party. 

2. To be able to g-et as much information as they could 
concernino- their parts and tell it in as entertainin- " 
manner as possible. 



2- a 



Situation . 

"How many children here ate breakfast this raornmg? 
All hands went up. 



/\11 naiiutj wciiL up. 1 1 r :3" 

"Do you object to telling me what you had for breakfast.^ 
A number volunteered to tell coffee and bread being common 
articles of food. 

"What would you consider a real good breakfast? ' Here 
a number gave quite a list of what they thought would be an 
ideal breakfast ; steak, coffee, chops, pancakes, etc. 

"How would you feel if you were to eat such a breakfast 
and come to school?" Various answers were given, such as 'T'd 
feel bully," "I'd feel fine," "I'd have a headache," "I'd feel 
sleepy," etc. 

Then the question was asked. "Would you like to prepare a 
list of articles that would reallv make the right kind of a break- 
fast ?" This was received with enthusiasm. After considerable 
discussion, it was decided that a breakfast of fruit, cereal, bread 
and butter, bacon and eggs, with cocoa, and possibly coffee for 
tlie sake of its study, would make a good breakfast. 

"How then, would you like to have a breakfast party, where 
each of you would be an article of food and tell the story of your 
life up to the time vou were about to be eaten?" This caused 
a wave of enthusiasm and for a few minutes there was a commo- 
tion and a discussion of what they w^ould like to represent. 

Activities 

The menu was selected as follows : Each pupil was asked 
his or her choice of fruit ; these were written upon the blackboard 
and from the list given the five most popular were chosen ; grape- 
fruit, oranges, grapes, prunes, bananas. (A number, so as to 
give variety to their studv, and story-tellinc::.) In the same way 
the cereals were selected : Quaker Oats. Cream of Wheat, Corn 
Flakes, Puffed Rice, and Shredded XA^heat. The other articles 
were soon decided upon and the complete menu written upon the 
board : 

Fruit 

Grapefruit 

Oranges 

29 



Grapes 
Prunes 
Bananas 

Cereals 

Quaker Oats 
Cream of Wheat 
Corn Flakes 
Puffed Rice 
Shredded Wheat 

Bread and Butter 
Bacon and Kggs 
Cocoa and Milk 
Coffee and Cream 
Sugar, Salt, Pepper 

The pupils were then led to discover how little they knew 
about these things and how they could find out about them. 
"How much can you tell about these articles of food, — where 
they are produced, how they are grown, how prepared for market, 
and how they reach Bernardsville and your homes?" Various 
answers. "Where do you think you might find out?" 

Then the class was organized, each pupil taking some item 
of food for study and being a large class, each had one or more 
helpers. 

Further discussions relating to the sources of information 
were had. Pupils having cereals wrote to various manufacturers : 
Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes, Battle Creek. Michigan ; Shred- 
ded Wheat Company, Chicago, Illinois ; Cream of Wlieat Com- 
pany, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for information concerning these. 

Later, booklets were made in which children printed the 
menu and pasted pictures cut from magazines. These booklets 
were almost entirely the work of the pupils themselves. They 
had one lesson in drawing class with the printing. Most of the 
work was done at home and in the class-room at noon and after 
the regular sessions were over. 

Booklets on Cocoa were available from Huyler, Lowney. 
and Baker Cocoa Companies. A very instructive description 
from Wilbur and Sons told about the growth and culture of 
cocoa; this company also sent two pounds of the cocoa beans, 
which the pupils were allowed to eat as freely as they wished. 
The Lowney Company's exhibit of chocolate and cocoa was 
available. * 

Pupils consulted geographies, geographical readers, maga- 
zines, newspapers, their parents, and friends, and gathered data 
from all the sources they could. They made notes from their 
readings in logical order. 

30 



In the study of the cereals, for example, they found out 
where grown, conditions favoring these localities, how soil was 
prepared for seed, later cultivation, harvesting, manufacturing, 
transporting; routes were traced on maps, etc. 

Several study periods were given over to looking up ma- 
terials. Explanations were given so that the pupils had an intelli- 
gent understanding of their topics. 

When we were ready for the party the pupils sat by desks 
in front of the class room and told their stories. These were 
listened to with great interest; and some of the pupils made them 
very realistic — the boy who represented bacon began his story, 
"I was a pig — " 

EVAI^UATION 

I believe the educational possibilities of this project to be 
almost limitless in awakening in the pupils a lasting interest in 
their search for information concerning things that touch them 
closely. They have formd that there are a great many sources to 
which they may apply in gathering data concerning their prob- 
lems — books, pictures, magazines, people, factories, and num- 
berless others. 

They learned that the indexes in their geographies and other 
reference books are a great help and time saver; that the maps 
in books and on the walls mean more than masses of color and 
intricate, puzzling lines. 

The making of the booklets encouraged neatness, persever- 
ance, industry, co-operation, generosity, helpfulness, and a host 
of other traits. It was interesting to watch some of the little 
fellows who had finished theirs assist others ; helping collect pic- 
tures, cut them out. arrange them, and give advice as to how they 
were to be placed, so as to look their best. 

Their ability to choose and arrange and do the work was a 
revelation to themselves and others, while their pride in their 
work and satisfaction in accomplishment was shown by the in- 
quiry as to whether they would be allowed to have their booklets 
for their own. 

Besides the educational possibilities already shown, in prob- 
lem solving and self-realization, the opportunities for covering 
the course of study are many : The letters written to the manu- 
facturers furnish excellent English lessons; in getting data, silent 
reading; drawing and manual training, in making booklets; 
arithmetic, by discussion of food prices — ^giving them a realiza- 
tion of values ; hygiene by discussions concerning foods, what 
foods are nutritious, those considered harmful, food inspection 
laws; geography, by locating sources from which foods come, 



31 



cities along- routes of transportation, industries of food manu- 
factories, farming, mining, manufacturing, lumbering, commerce. 

Pupils, through this project, come to a realization of how 
they depend upon the labor of many for the most common 
articles of food and thus is engendered such a respect for manual 
labor, especially that of the farmer and factory laborer, who 
after all are the real food-producers, as would otherwise be 
difficult for them to get. 

The project opens up a wide field to the pupil, for it intro- 
duces many subsidiary projects: Fuel for cooking of foods; 
machinery and tools for the growing of grain, and for their 
manufacture, which introduces mining, cotton-growing, lumber- 
ing, barrel-making, building of railroads, ship building, grain 
elevators, and an almost endless list of workers in many indus- 
tries, including miners, farmers, factory workers, railroad build- 
ers, lumbermen, traincrews, seamen, food inspectors, wholesale 
and retail dealers, cooks and a host of others — all needed to fur- 
nish the breakfast. 

Some of the references consulted were: 
Carpenter's North America 
Brigham and McFarlane Geography 
Harmon B. Niver's Geography 
Tarr and McMurry Geography 
The National Geographic Magazine 
The Journal of Geography (May, 191 7) 
Cuban Cane Sugar, by Robert Wiles 
Manufacturing Companies 
Railroad Maps 
Steamship Companies 
And many others 



The Birds of New Jersey 

Leona M. Conovter, Fifth Grade, Freehold, N. J. 

Situation 

At the beginning of school in the fall a bird pamphlet, con- 
taining blanks for membership to the Junior Audubon Bird So- 
ciety, was sent to my room from the office. I read the circular to 
the children and told them that anyone wishing to join the society 
might do so, the membership fee being ten cents. As money was 
involved, I merely mentioned the subject, but before a week was 
over every child in the class had become a member of the society, 
and evervone was enthusiastic. 



32 



Activities 

The bird project immediately extended to their language 
work, for all the children wrote letters to the society asking if 
our class might enter the Junior Audubon Club. The child who 
wrote the best letter had the honor of having his letter sent to the 
secretary of the society. 

In due time bird literature, containing pictures of ten com- 
mon birds, outline drawings, of the birds, much reading matter, 
and a bird button for each child, was received. This led to many 
children buying other bird pictures and many bird books for 
themselves. 

Immediately the Fifth Grade Junior Audubon Society, with 
one hundred per cent, membership, was formed, with children 
acting as president, vice-president, and secretary. Meetings were 
held once a week in class, the officers presiding. 

The meetings were conducted as follows : 

a. The president took charge of the meeting and asked for 
any bird observations or reports. The children began to see the 
different winter birds, and to trace them from bird guides and 
books. 

b. Next, one of the ten bird pamphlets, containing a picture 
of the bird and reading material with a bird outline, was given to 
each child. Different children were then called upon by the presi- 
dent to read parts of the description or habits of the bird. Other 
children gave any additional information they had, or asked any 
questions they liked of teachers or pupils. 

c. Next, the outline drawings were given out and the chil- 
dren colored their birds as carefully and as nearly natural as they 
could. 

d. If there were no further discussions, the president an- 
nounced the subject of the next morning, as "The Downey Wood- 
pecker," and asked everyone to find as much material as possible. 

e. The children next began to make bird booklets in which 
to keep all bird pictures,, compositions, stories, newspaper ex-, 
tracts, etc. They chose the green and brown for their color 
scheme as belonging to woods and birds. 

The children brought many books of bird life for use and 
study in the school room, as 

Frank ^Chapman's "Bird Life." 

Alice Ball's "Bird Poems." 

Chester Reed's 'Xand Birds East of the Rockies." 

As spring wore on the children began to see many new 
birds, and the need for a bird record arose. The president ap- 
pointed four careful workers to make two bird records, two 
working together. They chose the spring colors, two shades of 
green, in making their charts. They used cut-out drawings of 

33 



leafy trees and blue birds for decoration. These charts were put 
on the burlap at the back of the room, and the vice-president and 
the secretary made a record of all birds described to them, with 
all the details given. 

This brought out the idea of decorating the burlap for the 
spring months with birds, which was done as follows : 

1. In the center of the burlap the words "Audubon So- 
ciety" were made of two-tone green paper, each child making 
some part of the words. 

2. On either side of the two bird charts already described 
were pictures of birds mounted on dark green paper and arranged 
by the children. All the bird pictures were in natural colors. 
Beside this there were bird compositions, newspaper clippings, 
the seasons of the birds, and several birds' nests of past years. 

How standards, ideals and principles were developed or 
adopted for guidance : 

1. The children acquired considerable knowledge of the 
use, habits, life and beauty of the birds, and developed, besides 
this, the idea of protecting the birds. 

2. In making booklets, charts, and arranging the burlap, the 
children soon realized that only the best in all work would be 
accepted by the officers of the society. Care, neatness and much 
thought must be exercised in all work. 

The project ended with a bird trip to the woods by the entire 
class, in which much enthusiasm and much knowledge of the 
birds was shown. This was the culmination of many smaller 
trips taken. 

The children were anxious to give a stereopticon lecture, 
conducted by the members of the class, and this may be done 
another year. 

Comment 

The project developed into a much larger one than was 
originally planned, but proved of great interest and help to the 
children. 

Educationally, the knowledge the children gained in school 
will be of life worth to them, for so few people who have not 
studied the birds during school life ever know them in after years. 

Recreationally, the field trips and the socialized bird lessons 
were a pleasure to all. 

The children have shown so much interest in bird life and' 
in protecting the birds that the parents have become much inter- 
ested in the "bird society," as the number of bird books, pictures 
and games bought by parents show. 

The "Bird Game," which is a card game of birds, is the most 
popular, quiet game at rest periods. 

34 



One mother, whose boy had been ill, said. "What a blessing 
those birds have been to me !" 



Life of Lincoln 

Renee G. Thacker, Fifth Grade, Cranford, N. J . 

Situation 

Before beginning a description of the very simple project I 
attempted in my room, I think it is best to tell you something 
about the class that I am teaching. It is known as the "Fifth 
Special," and is composed of backward children, some of whom 
are known to be subnormal. With the exception of three, all the 
children are repeating the grade. About one-third of the pupils 
are negroes, and practically all the others are of foreign par- 
entage. The parents as a whole are poor and illiterate, and take 
little, if any, interest in the school. This lack of interest on their 
part is a serious handicap in carrying out a project, but one of 
the best things the project method does is to get the parents inter- 
ested in school work. 

Purposing 

The project was started by the children themselves in a dis- 
cussion of the February holidays. Someone asked why we cele- 
brated Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, and, when the 
others attempted to explain, they soon discovered that their 
knowledge of this subject — as well as of all others — was very lim- 
ited. One of the boys, who is fond of reading, then suggested 
that we read "A Little Life of Lincoln." which he had just fin- 
ished. This is a simple play given in Hubbard's "Little American 
History Plays for Little Americans." The pupils are very fond 
of any kind of dramatization work, and especially partial to these 
plays, as they have made their history work so much more vital 
to them. So that afternoon during reading period we dramatized 
the story, and as soon as it was over there came a chorus of 
"Can't we give it in chapel ?" 

It is a striking characteristic of backward children that they 
are always eager to perform, so, while I wanted them to do just 
what they had suggested, I also wanted them to do it with a 
serious purpose in view. Therefore I merely asked, "Why 
should you give it in chapel?" and waited. They thought for a 
few minutes and then several of them answered that by giving 
the play they could help the other pupils in the school — especially 
those in the lower grades — to know something about Lincoln. 
With this goal ahead of us, we started in to work. 

35, 



Activities 

The pupils selected the cast for the play and a stage manager, 
being careful to choose children who were dependable as- well as 
able to do that sort of work. In the days that followed, those 
taking part in the play studied their parts, while the rest of the 
class helped the stage manager. They selected a list of necessary 
properties, and several of these, such as the open fireplace, were 
made by the boys. As the children were unable to afford material 
for new costumes, it necessitated rather crude ones. In the long 
run this was not a handicap, as it allowed them to use much 
ingenuity and originality. The pupils appointed a committee to 
get library books that would give pictures of the people of the 
Civil War period, and this not only gave work to a few people 
who had so far done little, but helped make the costumes realistic. 

About two weeks before the play was to h^ given the class 
was asked to contribute something to a program that the schools 
were to give for some of the local clubs. I asked the children 
what they would like to do for their share, and they replied that 
they wanted to givetheir play. They offered to stay after school 
in order to get ready, so we decided to do it. 

The class then wrote invitations for the occasion, each child 
taking one home. Then one of the children suggested programs 
— and we devoted our drawing periods of the week to the mak- 
ing of them. They decided that they would like to have a head 
of Lincoln on the outside of these programs, and at first about 
ten children worked at this. They knew that one boy did much 
better work than the others so they immediately elected him 
to make all the heads. A committee of seven did all the printing, 
and the most backward child in the class was made happy for 
hours by being allowed to use the paper-cutting machine to cut 
the paper for the programs. In this manner, every person in 
the class worked hard for jhe carrying out of the project. 

The class gave the play twice, once before the local clubs 
and once before the other classes of the Grant School. And at 
both performances we had the misfortune to have one of the 
characters too ill to come. It was one of the most gratifying 
things that has happened in my career as a teacher to see in 
each case another child offer to learn the part and work hard 
enough so that the play in each case was a success. 

While tjie aim of the project from the children's viewpoint 
was to help other children learn more about Lincoln, my chief 
aim was to get my own class to appreciate his great qualities. 
Each of the three acts of the little play brought out one of these 
qualities. When the play was over I gave each pupil a small 
piece of paper, and told them all to think over the play care- . 
fully and then to write dow^n three striking characteristics of 

36 



Lincoln. Almost every paper was returned to me with 'Xove 
of study, honesty, and kindness" written upon it. 

Comments 

As I said in the beginning, this project was a very simple 
one, but the class is an unusual one. Carrying out this project 
did more to develop a spirit of responsibility among the children 
than anything else I have ever done with or for them. They 
learned to do for themselves, learned the necessity for "team 
work" and the fun one can have in doing something for others. 
Their work in drawing and English, which was done in con- 
nection with the project, was much neater than any other pre- 
viously handed in. All in all, what I saw accomplished in my 
own room, has made nie an enthusiastic supporter of the project 
method. 

The Lumber Industry 

Helen R. Hartshonie, Fifth Grade, Mott School, Trenton, N. J. 

Purposing 

The children in my class had had, I knew, several very good 
food and clothing projects in the fourth grade. I was very 
anxious for their first work in the fifth grade to be a shelter 
project of their own choosing. In order to bring them to see their 
need of such work, we proceeded in the following manner: We 
had one lesson in which we talked about the needs of all people, 
namely, food, clothing and, sheher. I then asked which of these 
. needs they knew most about. Of course, the answer came quickly, 
food and clothing. In this way they realized that shelter was 
the subject they knew least about. For the next lesson they 
decided to find out different things which people use for shelter. 
Accordingly, a list of such materials was made, and the children 
all realized that lumber was the most important material and 
decided they would like to know more about it. I wanted them 
to have a definite problem to solve, so I showed the children a 
picture from the "National Geographic Magazine," which was 
really an advertisement of the American Hardwood Manufactur- 
ers' Association. The picture was an interesting- one of lumber- 
jacks at work. Just above the picture was this inscription, 
"Glimpse into the Spirit of America's Second Greatest Industry," 
which I read to the class. Then I said, "Does what I've just 
read make you wonder about anything?" The first answer I 
received was, "Why is himhcring one of America's greatest in- 
dustries?" The class decided that that was a worth while prob- 
lem to solve. 

37 



Teacher's Preparation 

Because I had been quite sure that a lumber project would 
meet the needs and interests of my class, I had beforehand 
worked out a plan including the main geographical facts which 
I wished the project to cover, and also suggestions for work in 
other subjects of the curriculum. This plan also provided for 
additional suggestions from the children and others which could 
not be anticipated but would come as the work progressed. 

'Activities 

After the class had adopted the project, I asked what they 
should do next. After some questioning they concluded they 
ought to know what would be needed in answering their problem 
and where they could get help in finding out these things. The 
second lesson then consisted of listing probleds which they 
must solve. 

I had previously made a list but, with the exception of one 
or tvyo questions, the children's problems covered the ground 
which I wished. The problems they did not bring up, that I 
wished, I had put in the list as the question I wanted to find an 
answer to. The problems they did bring up were excellent. 

"Are we ready, now. to answer the questions or is there 
something else we should do?" was my next inquiry. The ma- 
jority thought they were, but several' realized that all the questions 
were not of the same importance and should be arranged. The 
next lesson consisted of arranging the questions and each pupil 
was expected to give reasons for his or her plan of arrangement. 
The plan as adopted by the class follows : 

1. What do we use lumber for? 

2. What kinds of trees are used for lumber? 

3. Where are the forests? 

4. Which state has -the largest forests ? 

5. Have we plenty of wood in our country? 

6. Do we ship lumber to other countries ? 

7. What is a lumber camp and what is done there? 

8. How are the logs obtained from the forest ? 

9. Where are saw-mills and how do they run ? 
TO. How is lumber shipped? 

1 1 . Are there any forests in other countries ? 

For each day's lesson after this arrangement was made, one 
question was taken up and discussed by the class. Sometimes 
more than one lesson was needed to cover the subject as thor- 
oughly as the children wished to. This method was carried out 
until the question of the work carried on in a lumber camp was 
reached. The children decided that there were so many points 

38 



to discuss under this question that they had better hst them and 
divide the work. Hence the following questions were chosen : 

1. What season of the year are the trees cut down? 

2. How old are trees when they are cut down? 

3. How do they mark trees for cutting? 

4. How do they cut down the trees? What tools are used ? 

5. How- long does it take to cut down a big tree? 

6. How let the tree fall without breaking others? 

7. What is done with the limbs and bark? 

8. How do they take logs from the forest? 

9. What do they do in case of forest fires or great storms? 
Each child chose the question he was most interested in 

and for the next lesson each group of children looked in refer- 
eiice books and pamphlets for the answer to their question. One 
child was chosen from each group to report the answer found 
to tlie class as a whole. 

After all of the original eleven (piestions had been dis- 
jcussed the children decided they needed some method of checking 
themselves to find out wdiether they really knew^ the important 
points about lumbering. As a means of doing this they sug- 
gested that the teacher make out a list of questions which they 
were to write the answers to. In accordance with this idea, 
I put ten questions on the board. As a preparation for the 
written work each child answered the questions, using any book 
or pamphlet to help him. I also helped those who requested it. 
For the final review five of the ten questions were chosen by 
me and the children wrote the answers without any help. 

Course of Study 

Most of the spelling words and sentences were taken directly 
from the project. The children saw the need for these words 
when they came to write letters and stories. Samples of the 
kinds of sentences given are in the Lumber Book. 

Many samples of different kinds of wood were brought in ; 
these were measured. It was necessary also to measure wall 
space where exhibit boards were to be hung. Original problems 
were made by the children. Several attempts were made to find 
out something about the cost of maintaining a lumber camp, but 
material was not available. 

Very early in the work the children suggested writing to 
local lumber dealers for information. Later, addresses of lum- 
ber firms were found in the magazines. Before writing any 
letters, lessons were given on the proper form of business letters 
and addressing envelopes. Letters were sent to the following 
places : 



39 



2. Mr. William Baker, Assistant State Forester. 

3. City Supervisor of Manuel Training. 

4. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

5. American Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, 
Memphis, Tenn. 

6. Berry Brothers, Detroit, Mich. 

7. Gordon- Van Tine Co., Davenport, Iowa. 

8. Seattle Chamber of Commerce. 

9. Weyerhaeuser Forest Products, St. Paul. Minn, 

10. Long-Bell Lumber Co., Kansas City, Mo. 

11. Cornell Wood Board Co., Chicago, 111. 

In most cases letters to two or three firms were written in 
one lesson, 'each child choosing the firm to which he wished to 
write. The best one in each case was sent, unless that child had 
already had another of his letters chosen. Without any excep- 
tion we received very courteous answers and much valuable ma- 
terial: A note of thanks was later sent to each place. 

Besides letter writing, the project provided for other Eng- 
lish work. Oral discussions were held and papers written for 
the Lumber Book on the following topics : 

1. Enemies of Our Forests. 

2. What Our Government Does to the Enemies of our 
Forests. 

3. My Life in a Lumber Camp. 

4. Forests in Other Countries. 

An outline of each topic was made before written work was 
done. Technical mistakes made in the work, as arrangement, 
punctuation and paragraphing, were drilled upon. 

The project provided for silent and oral reading from refer- 
ence books and pamphlets sent in answer to our letters. The 
letters themselves were read orally as they came in. 

Of course, the project was primarily a geography one. In 
addition to the facts learned about the Lumber Industry the chil- 
dren learned how to use the index of their geography text-book 
for reference. Also how to use pictures and parts of other books 
and pages for just what they needed. 

Before the work had progressed very far the manual train- 
ing teacher offered to help the children make anything they 
wished to in connection with their projects. The boys made a 
log cabin, tables and chairs to furnish the cabin, sawed twigs into 
logs, a card-board saw mill and chutes to draw up logs. Two 
boys made derricks and a saw mill from their mechano sets and 
brouo-ht them to school. 



Another project along the same line was the making- of paper 
from wood-pulp, in which both boys and girls had a part. 

Materials CoIvLEcted 

The children gathered from magazines and newspapers 
clippings and pictures enough to make two posters. There are 
forty-three pictures, clippings and advertisements on the two 
posters. In addition to the posters they have a very good exhibit 
of different kinds of wood. The sixth grade boys kindly made 
two boards for us, one on which to hang our samples of wood 
and the other for our pamphlets. There are twenty-seven speci- 
mens of wood, each marked as to kind and most of them as to 
where they came from. Fifteen of these were given by a local 
lumber dealer. There are about thirty pamphlets. Some of the 
titles follow : 

1. Government Forest Work. 

2. Fighting Forest Fires. 

3. Fires for Fun. 

4. American Oak. 

5. Movie Slides That Sell Lumber. 

6. Poles that Resist Decay. 

The children intend to present posters, specimens and pamph- 
lets to the school to be used as a permanent exhibit and help other 
children who may study about lumber. 

Two booklets were also made, one to be handed in with this 
article and the other for the principal of the school. 

While I hoped, when I planned the work, that the children 
would collect pictures and , clippings for posters, T had no idea 
of their collecting and making a fine exhibit which could be pre- 
sented to the school as a small beginning for a school museum. 

References 

Day, Holman King Spruce 

( A good book for the teacher to read to get into the spirit of the 

subject) 
Allen. Nellie B. 

Geographical and Industrial Studies — United States 

Basset, Sara W The Story of Lumber 

Carpenter, Frank North America 

Carpenter, F. G. How the World is Housed 

Chamberlain, J. F How We are Sheltered 

Chase, A., & Clow, E Stories of Industry, Vol. I 

Grey, Lane The Young Foresters 

MacMurry. Chas. A Type Studies from Geog. of U. S. 

Monroe & Buckbee Our Country and Its People 

Price, Iverton W The Land We Live In 

41 



Roth, Filibert First Book of Forestry 

Tappan, Eva M Makers of Many Thing's — Chap. IV 

Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic Maga- 
zines contained advertisements of several of the firms to which 
we wrote. 

The Coal Industry of the U. S. 

L. B. Ross, fifth Grade, Linden, N. J. 

Aims 

Teacher's — To teach the mining of coal in the United States. 

To show the importance of coal to civilization. 
Pupils' — To find the extent of coal mining in the United 
States. , 

To find how the coal industry has develoi>ed all 
other industries. 

Teacher's Preparation 

Before anything could be done with the project in the class- 
room, I had to do a great deal of outside reading to become 
familiar with the working of the mines, the life of men in the 
mines and the transportation of coal. 

Activities 

The class became interested in the work when they decided 
to make booklets containing the story of coal. The children 
immediately began to bring in pictures of coal mines as well as- 
other pictures related to the subject of coal. A great many 
clippings from the newspapers were brought in stating the prices 
of coal and giving accounts of explosions in mines, etc. 

After we decided to make books, our great problem was to 
provide covers for them. The covers were made in the hand- 
work class. These were of different colors. We had the word 
"Coal" printed on the covers near the top, and a picture of a 
coal scuttle filled with coal was placed a little below the center. 
The letters of the word "Coal" and the coal scuttle were made of 
gray, outlined with l)lack. It made a very appropriate cover. 

Since some children could not find any pictures related to the 
subject, and others only a few, we planned to make a separate 
book for pictures. This gave us- a more complete book of 
pictures than we could otherwise have. 

In the book each child made were written compositions on 
each subject of coal studied. Each book had a map of Pennsyl- 
vania, since we studied the coal mines in that State, particularly,. 



and also a map of the other coal fields in the United States. 
Each one had a lesson in penmanship, spelling, arithmetic, and 
a letter ordering two tons of coal. An index concluded each 
book. 

Course of Study 

In this project on coal we covered more subjects in the 
curriculum than we could have done by simply reading about 
mining as it came in the geography book. We had problem^s on 
coal in arithmetic, words in spelling, the formation of C, O, A, L, 
in penmanship, geography compositions in language, stories about 
coal in reading, history of formation of coal, life of men in mines 
for hygiene, drawing of maps, and making of covers in hand- 
work. 

Results 

The class was very much interested in the work all through 
the project. This was clearly seen by the number of clippings 
and pictures brought in. The work in the books was neat since 
they were to be put on exhibition and to be shown to any visitor 
who came into the room. Different kinds of coal were brought 
in. A cross section of a coal mine was drawn on the board. 

References 

Coal and the Coal Mines, by Homer Greene. 

National Geographic Magazine. 

Anthracite or Hard Coal. 

Material from Geographv Text Book, Tarr & McMurry, 
Book n. 

A Model Community 

R. Maure, Fifth Grade, Bernardsinlle, N. J. 

Aims 

Teacher's Aim — To give the information required by the 

course of study in a way that will 

arouse and hold the interest of every 

pupil. 
Pupil's Goal — To learn how a model city is planned and 

governed. 

How THE Project Started 

"What is the best method of presenting Community Civics 
to the pupils" was the problem before a group of teachers during 
a round-table discussion. The idea which finally met with the 

43 



whole-hearted approval of all was tendered by the Manual Arts 
teacher. "Why not build a model community of paper on the 
floor in my room as you discuss the ideal town in the classroom?" 
The possibilities in the idea were soon recognized by the teachers 
and from this suggestion our project developed. To plan, or- 
ganize, rule, and construct a Utopia was the project of the Com- 
munity Civics class and in so doing the entire course of study in 
Community Civics was covered. 

To present the oreblem so that the pupils would accept it as 
their own was a difificulty which was overcome in the following 
manner: The pupils in the different grades which were study- 
ing the topic, met the head instructor in Civics who explained 
the shortcomings of his own and other. towns and the problems 
that were before the public to-day. The fact that they were about 
to study these problems in school and that they might be of in- 
fluence in bettering conditions, was pointed out. I'he pupils con- 
tributed suggestions for improving conditions and asked ques- 
tions, concerning the ideal town. By skillful questioning, the 
instructor lead one of the class to suggest the actual construction 
of a model town and the class enthusiastically approved of their 
fellow-member's suggestion. The minor additions to the idea 
cam.e from nearly all the pupils present for the instructor lead 
them on in their enthusiasm. So the model town "Utopia" 
became their talk, their interest, and in many cases, entered their 
dreams. This is not over-stating it, for the parents of the pupils 
have testified to the way the idea gripped the children. 

The social needs and values of. the subject need not he 
mentioned, as they are so well known to the teachers Avho will 
read this. 

The Various Lines of Advance Towards the Goae 

Much time was spent during the first lessons in each of the 
classes in giving the pupils an idea of what they had to accom- 
plish and in mapping out with them a method of accomplishment. 
The class considered themselves individuals on a desert island 
and told the instructor how they would go about it to secure the 
necessities of life. He finally lead them to see the laborious 
process and the need for co-operation and organization. The 
community secured this and thus the pupils realized that they, 
too, must have it, were they to build a model community. 
Organization began. The need of a legislative body — a town- 
ship committee — was evident. The pupils elected officers and 
officials from their own number, after nominations were made, 
ballots prepared, election booth constructed, campaign speeches 
made, etc. The legislative body met with the community (the 
remainder of the class) in open session. Committees were ap- 

44 



pointed to handle the different phases of the work, as mapping 
out the streets, the parks, playgrounds, hospitals, firehouses, 
town hall, pumping stations, etc., as each topic came before the 
class for discussion. The needs were presented and studied by 
different citizens, and, as they were presented, the committee in 
group discussions stated the most up-to-date methods of meet- 
ing them, and the body, in open session, adopted the motion 
proposed. At the same time, in the manual training room, the 
town was laid out and built up. The children here also worked 
in committees and carried out the ideas presented in the civics 
class. The children in the primary grades wanted to help and 
they made lampposts of wooden boxes, beads, and other trifles 
which added to the beauty of the town. The nature-study class 
fell in line and discussed the wild flowers, trees, bird-houses, etc., 
which should be added to the community. The physical train- 
ing instructor told the pupils the need of physical perfection to 
the inhabitants of the comunity and the zest and "pep" thrown 
into physical training was remarked and wondered at by the 
visitors who came to see the scheme which began to gain more 
than local reputation. The pupils brought material they found 
at home which they could add to the community— as toy cats, 
dogs, pigeons, chickens, pigs, etc., for the farms and numerous 
other things for the town. These could not begin to be stated 
in so short a report. One parent remarked that her daughter 
never before had shown the interest or initiative that she did 
in this work. The instructor talked with the girl telling her 
his problems and she solved them with excellent suggestions^ 
The initiative which came from the pupils of the class was carried 
over at the conclusion of the project, to other classes. Anew 
instructor, the following year, remarked upon the pupils attitude 
toward a problem and upon their eagerness to do construction 
work, to make notebooks, to illustrate their work, etc. 

In one discussion a pupil brought before the body a proposal 
to adopt a certain piece of apparatus for the playground which 
he could build. A second pupil immediately spoke of the impro- 
priety of discussing such small matters, and referred the pupil to 
a certain committee. This minor illustration of how the pupils 
evaluated the proposals brought forward indicates that the judg- 
ment of a fi^fth grade pupil is more mature than the teacher sus- 

^^^ The recitations were mostly socialized. The president of 
the Township Committee presided. The teacher had a seat with 
the citizens and offered suggestions from that place when neces- 
sary Review classes and summarizing lessons were conducted 
by the instructor. The value derived from these methods of 
recitation cannot be overemphasized. 

45 



The project was also considered by the pupils as one of the 
many activities that they must know about and engage in, in real 
life. National civics is a still larger problem, and the knowledge 
gained in this class they found could be used in hundreds of the 
other activities of everyday life. 

The Educational, Possibilities oe the Project 

The project "Community Civics" was a life project. The 
school, by means of it, was brought into sharp contact with real 
life. The pupils realized it was objective and practical — not 
theoretical and vague — and it aroused their interest. The large 
projects of the outside world have a powerful attraction for 
school children because, I believe, they realize they will encounter 
them in later life. The children planned, built and ruled this 
community. The effort required their full powers, and they gave 
them. The result of their striving was, from the beginning, 
apparent to them. In life, do we not engage our powers only 
when this is the end in view ? 

The project w^as educational also in that it required thinking 
for a purpose. To supply this town with all its needs, to rule, to 
study its laws so as to govern wisely, to build its houses, plan its 
streets, parks, homes and public buildings, offered abundant op- 
portunity for purposeful thinking and furnished an unlimited 
number of problems. 

The notebooks of this course were attractive, due to the fact 
that they were illustrated by pictures cut from magazines. Four 
prizes were awarded to the pupils for the most interesting books. 
The competition was keen. The pupils' pride in the success of 
their efforts made it difficult to obtain the books for exhibition. 
Appropriate designs were made for the covers during a lesson in 
drawing. 

For excellence in making streets, houses, clear-cut windows, 
designing public buildings, etc., the pupils were allowed to name 
the public places, and this was an aid in motivating the work. 

The course of study in Community Civics was completely 
covered by the project. The project served as a natural way to 
present topics in other courses of study, such as Nature Study. 
Here the pupils studied the wild flowers, planted and cultivated 
them to beautify the model town. The trees needed to beautify 
the streets was a topic discussed at another lesson, and parents 
and friends were consulted and offered ad\ice on these topics. , 

The townspeople furnished aid in putting the project "over." 
The pupils had conference with the Township Committee, mem- 
bers of the Board of Education and Board of Health, superin- 
tendent and teachers of the school, and others. The boy or girl 
who had, as an agent of the class, consulted with one of our 



prominent citizens felt as proud as though he had been delegated 
a member of the peace commission to Paris. They enjoyed 
reciting these experiences to the class. These trips developed 
such social virtues as self-reliance, responsibility, co-operation, 
kindness and self-control. 

References . 

The references used to obtain information on these subjects 
were the newspaper and magazine articles of that year which 
discussed community problems, and the following texts: 

My Country, Turkington ; Ginn & Co. 

The New American Citizen, Dole ; D. C. Heath. 

Preparing for Citizenship, Guitteau; Houghton, Mifflin Co. 

Our Community, Ziegler and Jaquette ; J. C. Winston Co. 

City and Nation, W. H. Nida; MacMillan Co. 

The Community and the Citizen, Dunn; D. C. Heath. 

Citizenship in School and Out, Dunn and Harris; D. C. 
Heath. 

Current magazines and newspapers. 

Signs of Spring 

Helen R. Carter. Fifth Grade, Moses School, Trenton, N. J. 

Aims 

My aim was to develop in the chddren a love of nature, 
especially of the birds and flowers, and through this love and 
understanding to lead them to care for and protect these thmgs 
instead of destroying them. 

The children's aim was to see what signs of spnng they 
could find, and then to see what they could learn about each one. 
One of the other teachers was making a chart showing when 
each kind of bird arrived for the season, and the children were 
asked to give her any information they could. Thus added 
interest was given to this phase of the work. 

Purposing 

One day in February a child came to school and told of a 
bird which -he had seen in his yard. His attention had been 
attracted to it because "it walked" instead of hopping, and he 
wanted to know what it was. During English period that morn- 
ing we had a very interesting discussion of the starling (for 
several of the pupils already knew the bird when they saw it)_ 
The discussion of this one bird led the children to speak of 
others, and ask what they were. The day upon which this talk 
took place was a mild and springlike one, and made one think of 

47 



the coming of spring, with its birds and flowers. Because of this 
it was very easy to lead the children to ask about these things, 
and I said, "How many would like to find out more about the 
birds and flowers?" They were unanimous in their desire to do 
this, and so began our Signs-of-Spring project. 

Activities 

The children decided to begin it right away (for even in 
February they saw signs of spring), and to keep a record of 
everything they could find out. This record was kept by means 
of a chart, placed upon the blackboard, which showed the time of 
arrival of each bird and flower. As each child discovered one of 
these he marked it upon the chart. Great interest and friendly 
rivalry were aroused in this way, for each one wanted the honor 
of discovering each new sign. Besides this chart the children 
decided to make a booklet, called "Signs of Sprino^." As a bird 
or a flower appeared and was reported by a child we had a class 
discussion about it — its appearance, habits, time of arrival in the 
spring, etc. These facts the children obtained through stories in 
bird or flower books, newspapers, magazines, pictures, stuffed 
birds (which showed to any child not fortunate enough to see a 
live one what it looked like), and hearsay. 

The children were enthusiastic over the work, and scoured 
the town in search of books and magazines. Naturally, many 
birds and flowers were found which the children did not know, 
but they either described their appearance or brought in a speci- 
men (depending upon whether it was a bird or a flower), and, 
in their books, they soon learned to trace them and find what 
they were. 

Different topics were assigned to different pupils or groups 
of pupils, depending greatly upon what books or materials were 
available to each. They soon learned to pick out the most inter- 
esting and important facts, ^ and to discard the others. 

After a class discussion of the most vital facts about the bird 
or the flower, a story was written by each pupil. This story was 
placed in his booklet, and was accompanied by a drawing or a 
specimen of it. Were it a bird, a drawing of it was made, either 
from the stuft'ed bird, (obtained from the school collection), or 
from a picture. Were it a flower, a drawing was made of the 
flower itself or from a picture, or the specimen of it was placed 
in the booklet. 

Course of Study 

Not only was the project wonderfully successful in regard 
to both the pupils and the teacher's aims, but it covered every 
other subject in the course of study. In English or grammar 



class discussions, the oral and written composition about each bird 
or flower were the most important points. Never had the chil- 
dren taken such an interest in their reproductions and composi- 
tions as at this time and never had they done such good work. 
In order to have attractive and neatly written stories for their 
booklets, they realized that their writing must be good and great 
improvement was shown. When the children began to write 
their stories they saw the necessity of knowing how to spell many 
words, and these they learned as a spelling lesson. 

The reading of their compositions, nature stories in maga- 
zines, books, and papers was also covered in this project. For 
music, they learned songs about the birds and flowers. Excur- 
sions into the woods in search of signs of spring afforded the 
best kind of physical training. These excursions taught a great 
deal about home geography, while the migration of birds led 
to a knowledge of places and countries further away. The 
drawing of the birds and flowers, and the making of their book- 
lets provided for their drawing and industrial art. Arithmetic 
v/as taught by means of this project, too, for in order to make 
their booklets and posters, a knowledge of measuring was neces- 
sary. 

Other Vai^uks 

Not only did this project provide for the course of study 
but it accomplished many other things. It taught the pupils (by 
tracing out the kind of bird or flower, and also by learning how 
to use books) how to find certain facts and to have confidence in 
and depend upo'U themselves. The looking for these signs of 
spring and observing each one carefully taught the children the 
habit of observation of important facts and details. The teach- 
er's aim was accomplished, for the pupils understood and loved 
nature as they never had before. They learned to protect, not 
to destroy the birds and the flowers. By means of study, they 
were prepared to quickly understand and appreciate similar ones, 
and when school closed, they asked if, upon their return, they 
might start an autumn booklet. 

Much of their information was obtained from the following 
references: 

Nat'l Geographic Magazines 

American Natural History — Hornaday 
Pub. by C. Scribner's Sons 

The Wonder Book— Vol. Ill Nature 

Our Birds and Their Nestlings — Margaret Coulson Walker 
Pub. by American Book Co. 

Bird Life — Frank M. Chapman 
Pub. by D. Appleton & Co. 

49 



How to laiow the Wild Flowers — Mrs. Wm. Starr Dana 

Pub. by Chas. Scribner's Sons 
Bird Guide — Chester A. Reed 



Looking Through the Glasses 

Viola H. Moss — Fifth Grade, Trenton, N. J. 

Purposing 

This play was written and given as a sort of appreciation 
lesson — appreciation of the differences in the school life and play 
life of people now, compared with the hardships of Colonial 
times. The suggestion was made to me by one of the children in 
a conversation with him at recess. I asked him to present his idea 
to the class. He did so, and they were very enthi*siastic. They 
were studying the biographies of several men of Colonial times 
and thev noticed a ereat manv differences l>etween their lives and 



Activities 

The play was planned and written by the class during several 
lessons, each scene and speech being carefully selected by the 
children while I tried to keep in the background. 

The entire play was very crude, even after several periods of 
criticism by the class, but I felt that it was the children's own, 
so we gave it from the platform before the school. 

The text of the play follows : — 

LOOKING THROUGH THE GLASSES 
Scene I 

Washington and Lafayette are seated at a table ; Betsy Ross 
and four other girls are sewing a flag of red and white stripes, 
with thirteen stars on a blue field. 

Washington — When do you think the flag will be finished. 
Mistress Betsy? 

Betsy — We are trying to have it ready for you very soon. 
General Washington. 

Lafayette — How is the flag to be made, Mistress Betsy? 

Betsy — There are to be seven red stripes and six white ones 
with thirteen white stars on a blue field, one for each colony of 
the Union. 



50 



Washington — Don't you think it is a beautiful flag, Gen- 
eral? 

Lafayette — Yes, indeed, General Washington, and you are 
serving your country by making it, Mistress Ross. 

Elizabeth, one of the helpers— "We are glad, General Lafay- 
ette, that you and your brave French soldiers have come to help 
us. We hope that some day we shall be able to repay you." 

Washington — Will you let me know when the flag is fin- 
ished. Mistress Betsy ? 

Betsy — Yes, I will send it by a messenger as soon as it 
is done. 

Betsy and girls rise, curtsy and leave stage. 

The boys stand. As they leave Washington pulls his chair 
closer to Lafayette's. 

Washington — I am expecting our good friend, Benjamin 
Franklin. 

Lafayette, looking toward the door — Here he comes now. 

Enter Franklin — How do you do, Generals? 

Washington — Very well, thank you, sir. I hope you are 
in the best of health. Mr. Franklin. 

Lafayette — I did not see you at our meeting last night, Mr. 
Franklin. 

Franklin — No, my friend, I was very tired. I came from 
Philadelphia yesterday and it took me all day to make the 
journey on horseback. Besides, as you know, General Lafayette, 
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy 
and wise." 

Lafayette — That is very true, but a hard rule for a soldier 
to follow. 

Franklin — I was in Philadelphia, yesterday, to see how the 
public library, which I started there, is getting along. 

Washington — Do the people like it and read the books? 

Franklin — They must enjoy it for every day when the li- 
brary is open it is crowded with people. I am sorry that we do 
not have any children's books on the shelves. 

Washington — I wonder if the children one hundred and 
fifty years from now will appreciate this great country? 

Lafayette— I should like to know that, too. Perhaps there 
will be hundreds of libraries then and many free schools, too. 

Franklin — I wish I could see what the children will be doing 
in America one hundred and fifty years from now, don't you? 

A knocking on the door is heard. 

Washington — Come in. 

Messenger enters — A package for you, sir. He salutes and 
goes out. 

51 



Washington opens the package and finds a letter. 
Washington — Here is a letter which I will read to you. 
(Reads.) 

Philadelphia, Pa., 

Feb. 4, 1775. 
Dear General Washington : 

In this package you will find three pairs of magic glasses. 
If you look through them you will see what will happen 150 
years from now. Do you want to try it ? 
Sincerely yours, 

Thomas Jef^ferson. 

Washington — Shall we try it, gentlemen? 
Both — Yes, yes. 

Place colored glasses on and moved chairs back against 
wall to watch what was about to happen. 

Scene II 

This scene takes places in the auditorium of the Columbus 
School, Trenton, N. J., Feb. 7, 1921. 

Boy — The children of to-day are able to enjoy the finest 
music on the victrola. We will now listen to the "Sextette from 
Lucia," by Donizetti. 

Girl — The girls of these times learn to sew as well as the 
makers of our flag. This cooking apron and cap which I have 
on were made by hand in ten lessons. 

Girl — Singing is an important part of our school work. 
The class will sing the Troubadour Song, by Bayly, led by one 
of the members of the class. 

Girl — In school to-day the girls are taught to cook. We 
have made many things this year — cookies, candy, puddings, 
and biscuits. I have here some of the cook books which Miss 
Banks, the Domestic Science teacher, has given us. 

Boy — In the manual training shop we are making tooth 
brush holders. This is the way we make them. Take a piece 
of wood, plane an edge. Measure the length and square one end. 
Measure, the width and square another end. When it is finished 
it will hold four tooth brushes. We will finish it with mahogany 
stain, varnish and wax. 

Boy goes on platform carrying large American flag and 
recites "The Flag Goes By." 

Girl — We enjoy greatly our daily work in the gymnasium. 
The girls gave a dance called, "Gathering Peascods." 

Girl — Monologue — "Freddy and Nellie" — an original con- 
versation. 

52 



Scene III 

The men who have watched these proceedings, slowly take 
off their glasses and rub their eyes. 

Washington — Do you think that was all real or were we 
dreaming? 

Lafayette-— It seems too wonderful to be true, doesn't it? 
Surely such things couldn't happen ! 

Franklin — I believe it is all true. How happy the children 
of 1 92 1 should be! 

Values 

Every child in the class had some part in the play. 

A great deal of work was done out of school by the class 
before the play was finished. 

The clothing of the Colonial period was studied and the 
girls" made kerchiefs to wear. They also wore little aprons and 
caps. The boys made silver buckles out of silver paper over 
cardboard for Washington's and Lafayette's costumes. 

Many pictures showing costumes and scenes were brought 
into school and studied. Continental blue suits were made by 
the girls arid myself for the boys impersonating Washington, 
Lafayette and the messenger. A plainer suit of black was made 
for Franklin. 

The ways in which these men are responsible for some of 
the comforts and joys of our lives were studied and used in the 
play, for instance, the library started by Franklin and the 
country in which we live, won by the efforts of Washington and 
Lafayette and their soldiers. 

The locations of the various towns of importance in Colonial 
times were studied and "Franklin" made use of this knowledge 
in one of his speeches. 

The English of the play was severely criticized and while 
there are some localisms in the speech, I believe, for the most 
part, it is fairly pure. In stories the children noticed some 
peculiarities of Colonial English, as the title, "Mistress." 

The note of appreciation and love of our country and its 
present advantages was stressed all through the work and since 
about 85 per cent, of the children of the class are of foreign 
parentage, I feel that the respect and honor shown the founders 
of the Nation was an achievement worth while. 

Compositions were written about the principal characters 
and read to the class. Many books of history were read — some 
parts of them aloud. 

The children were given certain responsibilities, as stage 
managing and taking care of their costumes. 

53 



The class learned a great deal about the making and giving 
of a play. They are eager to give another and watch their 
studies for every opportunity for dramatization. 

Comments 

Some shy children were able to talk from the platform 
because they put themselves so wholeheartedly into their parts 
that they lost the feeling of self-consciousness. 

I note new outcomes every day, for example, eagerness to 
emulate the character and speech of the great men of history. 
After the dignity of Washington or Franklin has attached itself 
to one, it is difficult to become again a thoughtless, ill-mannered 
boy. 

The modesty and willingness to obey, portrayed by Betsy 
Ross and her helpers, were lessons for the girls of the class. 

The flag was seen as a real symbol of unity acid loyalty. 

Appreciation of present-day America and gratitude to the 
pioneers of our country are the outstanding achievements of the 
project. 



Egypt and the Sahara 

Marie I. Weldon, Sixth Grade, School No. 2, Linden, N. J. 

How THE Project Started 

The sixth grade geography class had completed the study of 
Europe, and had made individual booklets illustrated with maps 
and pictures. They began to ask what continent they were to 
study next. Asia, Africa and Australia were yet to Idc consid- 
ered. I gave the children two days to talk over the matter among 
themselves. Then they .voted almost unanimously to study 
Africa. 

To inspire the children to do something out of the ordinary, 
I read to them several reports of projects for their grade, worked 
out in other schools. Some of these accounts involved sand table 
construction. This reading had the desired effect. One child 
suggested that we might obtain permission to bring an unused 
sand table from one of the lower grades to the sixth grade room. 
No obstacle presented itself, and the sand table became the center 
of interest. 

Activities 

About a week was spent on the study of Africa as a whole. 
Its location, size, coast line, surface, temperature and rainfall 
were discussed, as well as people, controlling European nations, 

54 



and reasons for Africa's backwardness. This work was done 
with the aid of text books, maps and outside reading. To arouse 
interest in Egypt and the Sahara, 1 read to the class from Car- 
penter's "Africa" a chapter on the Nile and the great Egyptian 
monuments. Immediately there came from the class the response 
I had anticipated. One child suggested that we build Egypt and 
the Nile on the sand table. The class approved, and a committee 
was appointed to do the work. The class decided to bring what- 
ever material was necessary. Geography periods were devoted 
to such topics as the great monuments of the ancient Egyptians, 
their worship of the Nile, and their dependence upon it. These 
discussions of old Egypt paved the way for other discussions on 
present-day Egypt, its people, irrigation, products and trade. 
Reports and oral reading about these and other topics, such as 
caravan journeys, Arab shepherds and their wanderings, made 
the work interesting. 

One night after school the sand table committee held its first 
meeting and listed the materials needed for the sand table. The 
representations consisted of the Nile, the Sphinx, pyramids, ruins 
of temples, a Nile village, camels, people, palm trees, and irriga- 
tion canals. The class approved the list, and very soon clothes 
pins dressed like Egyptians began to appear. One boy found clay 
in a nearby brook and made a real clay house. The committee 
made other houses, camels and a sphinx from plasticine. The 
class supplied the small blocks for the pyramids. One child 
thought that the cultivated area along the Nile might be suggested 
by bits of grass with blue paper between for irrigation canals. 
The Nile was also represented by blue paper. When the sand 
table was completed the children thought it would be nice to invite 
grade 6A to see it. At this point I found it necessary to resort 
to suggestion, so I said, "Do you think of anything we might do 
to entertain grade 6A when the class comes to see the sand 
table?" One girl suggested an Arabian or Egyptian dance or 
song, another thought of having several short explanations of the 
materials on the sand table. I was not yet satisfied, so I asked 
further : "Do you think we might dress like Egyptians when we 
give our speeches?" This idea met with instant approval. The 
next addition to our intended program came soon. The boys had 
seen pictures of Arab tents, and wished to make a real tent in the 
schoolroom. So many boys were ready to construct it that the 
class considered a tent committee necessary. The boys appointed 
went to a nearby woods after school and appeared next morning 
with stakes enough for a frame for a good sized tent. One of the 
girls brought seventeen burlap bags, which the boys sewed to- 
gether and placed over the stakes. Thus the tent was produced. 
The children had been collecting pictures, so a chart com- 



mittee was appointed to mount these on a large sheet of oak-tag. 
Another child, who had found some excellent pictures of Egypt 
in a library book, asked if they might be copied on the blackboard 
in colored chalk. Thus our blackboard committee came into 
beiAg. Our search for a suitable song or dance for the occasion 
proved futile, so I suggested that the class choose some melody 
already known to them and compose verses suitable for our pro- 
gram. Several children brought in verses the next day. The best 
were placed on the board and copied by the class. The tune 
chosen was "Sweet and Low." We sang the new song during 
the music period. A map committee drew a large map of Africa 
on the board, and also chose the best political, rainfall and product 
maps made by individual pupils for exhibition in the room. 

The entertainment committee met in my room after school 
and with my help decided that six people, besides the chairman, 
should speak. The topics were as follows : , 

I. The Nile. 2. The Sahara. 3. The Pyramids and Sphinx. 
4. Nile People and Their Homes. 5. Egypt's Products. 6. The 
Date Industry. 

The chairman's work was to explain how the project started 
and how it was carried out. An eighth grade girl had brought to 
school a phonograph record, ''Karavan." This was made a part 
of the program. The song "Egypt," made up by the class, was 
sung as a part of the program. The class had previously talked 
about having dates to serve to our visitors. These had been pro- 
vided by a girl whose father has a grocery store. Some children 
brought pennies to buy more dates. These were served at the 
end of the program. 

A list of reference books used had been placed upon the 
blackboard, as were the verses composed by the class. 

Course of Study Covered 

1. Geography — physical features, occupations, people, 

products, and trade of Egypt and the Sahara; map 
work. 

2. English — daily oral Enghsh in class discussions; written 

composition as a summary of the project; original 
verses by several children, spelling of difficult words. 

3. History — brief account of ancient Egyptians, their mon- 

uments ; Nile worship ; burial customs, etc. 

4. Writing — penmanship periods were given to writing of 

compositions and copying of verses. 

5. Music — singing of "Egypt" to the melody of "Sweet 

and Low," phonograph record. 



56 



Comments 

The amount of outside work done willingly at noon and 
after school, as well as the industry of the children, proved to me 
that they were really interested. They proved to themselves that 
their class could do something that other people enjoyed, and I 
think that the present high degree of satisfaction in accomplish- 
ment is not a bad symptom. One boy, who has been rather 
backward and disinclined to work, surprised us by his willingness 
to act the part of an Arab chief. This performance involved a 
report, which he gave very well. 

The effect outside the grade was rather interesting. The 
eighth grade children were so pleased with the idea of a sand 
table that the boys constructed a large one and brought it to 
school. 

References 

Carpenter's "Africa," American Book Co. 

Niver's "Advanced Geography," Hinds, Hayden & El- 
dredge. 

Carpenter's "How the World is Housed," American Book 
Company. 

Chamberlain's "Africa," MacMillan. 

Fenn's "The Khedive Country." 

Hichen's "Egypt and Its Monuments." 

Brigham & McFarlane's "Essentials of Geography," Book 
n, American Book Co. 

Atwood's New Geography, Book H, Ginn & Co. 

Pictures from National Geographic Magazine, Washington, 
D. C. 

The Silk Industry of Japan 

Bmma Nonamaker, Sixth Grade, Columbus School, 
Trenton, N. J. 
Situation 

The pupils were very much interested in reading about silk 
while studying about Japan. They decided that they would like 
to know more about the silk worm. 

Here ane some of the things they selected to study : 

1. What are the silk-producing countries. 

2. Life and habits of the Japanese people. 

3. How the raw silk is produced. 

1. Moth. 

2. The eggs. 

3. The worm. 

4. The cocoon. 

57 



5- Disposal of cocoons. 
6. Preparation of raw silk. 

4. The people employed. 

5. The home of the people. 

6. Location of weaving mills. 

7. Processes of manufacture. 

Activities 

The class was divided into groups; each was allowed to 
choose the topic he wished to work on. 

In working out the first topic the pupils made frequent trips 
to the library; they traced the history of the silk worm from 
China and Japan to Italy and France. 

In working out the habits and life of the Japanese people 
the pupils represented Japanese life on the sand table. They 
made homes of cardboard showing the movable v^alls, a street 
scene showing the jinrikishas, and the little Japanese children 
playing in the streets with their baby brother or sister tied to their 
backs. A blackboard border was also made showing the famous 
mountain Fujiyama, and cherry blossom time in Japan, and 
Japanese lanterns. 

In studying the silk worm the pupils collected pictures of the 
moth; they found put the color, size and number of eggs laid; 
where the eggs are laid and how hatched. The worm was studied 
in the same way, size, color, kind of food, frequency of feeding, 
periodic eating and sleeping, moulting and rapid growth. A 
Japanese home was made showing the trays and shelves neces- 
sary for raising the worms. The cocoon, method of spinning, 
process of the spinning and length of the thread were noted. 

The skill of the Japanese people in reeling was emphasized 
as compared with the work accomplished by machinery in other 
countries. The people employed in raising the silk worm were 
compared in the different countries ; the fact was brought out 
that while United States can raise the mulberry tree and the silk 
worm," we haven't the cheap labor necessary for raising the silk 
worm profitably. 

Silk weaving mills are located in Japan, China, India, Italy, 
France, Germany, England and United States (New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania). The art of weaving was traced from one coun- 
try to another. Today, machinery is gradually taking the place 
of the hand looms in Japan and India. 

Course of Study 

The entire course of study was covered. There was plenty 
of opportunity for silent and oral reading; oral and written 
compositions, in discussing topics; art and manual training, in 

58 



making the Japanese village: civics, in studying the life and 
habits of the people. The following Japanese characteristics 
were brought out, self control, bravery, courage, patriotism, hon- 
esty, politeness, hospitality, reverence and love of beauty. 

The work was thoroughly enjoyed by all; each contributed 
something which made the work more interesting. 



A School Paper 

Martha Sayrc, Sii'th Grade, Marlton School, Marlton, N. J. 

Situation 

We decided upon a magazine or paper for our project. The 
material for this was to be obtained from the best EngHsh work 
done in the school. 

Then, at a time decided upon, an election was held and the 
officers elected by the pupils of the Sixth Grade. By what name 
shall our paper be known ? After many suggestions, w^e decided 
by vote, to call it the "Pine Cone," because our school is located 
in the pine region of New Jersey. 

Aims 

The teacher's aim was to inculcate in them the desire to do 
better English work, while the pupil's aim was to have the best 
school paper in Burlington County. 

Activities 

In order to understand some of the difficulties before us, we 
copied a paragraph from our text-book and then made a com- 
parison of the printed matter and the script, discovering that a 
page of written matter would not make a page of printed matter. 

Next we took up the problem of finance. How were we 
to finance this paper? We discussed the prices of the current 
weekly and monthly magazines and decided that we had a prob- 
lem before us. 

The Fifth and Sixth Grades had bought a Liberty Bond 
during the drive and were paying for it by selling candy at noons 
and before school, so the Sixth Grade asked the co-operation of 
the Fifth Grade to help finance the paper. After the bond was 
paid for, we continued to sell candy and the money went toward 
the "Pine Cone." 

Later in the year the Fifth Grade gave an entertainment and 
donated part of the proceeds to us. So our financial problem 
extended through the year, but we felt as if- it were nearly solved 
from the very first. 

59 



A day with the printer. Some problems we wanted an- 
swered : 

1. How were our text-books printed and made? 

2. What is paper and how is it made? 

3. Was each page printed separately? 

4. Were they cut the right size before they were printed ? 

5. Was the type set up in the same manner we write? 

6. How did the pictures get on the pages? 

We took considerable time to fold a piece of paper so that 
when the leaves were cut we would have 32 pages. Then we 
discussed linotyping, the great time saver for the printer; also 
how cuts were made. (Here the children were getting an in- 
sight into the different ways of earning a living in the com- 
mercial world. We are located in a farm community.) 

We found that the printer printed either eig^t or sixteen 
pages on one large sheet of paper, let it dry and turned it over 
and. printed the other side, let it dry, then folded it, cut the edges 
and stitched it with wire. Our one big project involved many 
problems. 

Everything worth while in school work was saved and every 
one was eager to have this work recommended for the paper by 
the class. 

We now saw a vital need for paragraphing our English 
work; and writing became an important subject, since we did 
not want any printer to think that we could not write. We 
learned that any subject matter sent to the printer must be writ- 
ten on one side of the paper only, in clear, distinct handwriting. 
This motivated our writing lessons. 

Each class was asked to contribute some subject-matter, but 
the whole undertaking was still unknown to them. It was mainly 
the Fifth and Sixth Grades that did the work, because they were 
the ones who were vitally interested in it. We aimed here to 
bring out the individuality of each student. 

When work handed in contained good thought but poor 
English, the pupils asked that it be written over. 

As we advanced and had work completed, we made a 
dummy of wrapping paper; and the editors, wnth the assistance 
of the teacher, arranged the dummy to be sent to the printer. 
When the proof came back, we pasted it in another dummy in 
the exact places we wanted it and returned it to the printer, who 
next sent us the finished product. 

Comment 

From a practical standpoint, the project was a success, hav- 
ing accomplished our aims. Educationally, I feel we cannot 

60 



measure the result. The pupils learned many things they were 
eager to know and some were more interested in some parts than 
in others. We never considered that we were working when we 
were doing "Pine Cone" work, when in reality it was then that 
we worked the hardest. The nice part of it was that when we 
were finished we had something that was our very own. 

In short the undertaking broadened the individual, created 
greater interest and raised the standard of work. The children 
appreciated the work of others and worked as a class toward 
one goal — a successful paper. The project took the work of 
the children into the homes, and gained the co-operation of the 
parents. It helped to make the community more nearly up to 
the mark, helped to make pupils better individuals, helped to 
teach them something of the outside world, and to make them 
better able to take their place in society. 



Ancient Greece 

Dorothy L. Broivne, Sixth Grade, Robert Gordon School, 
Roselle Park, N. I. 
Aims 

The teacher's aims were to teach in an interesting manner 
the ideas, customs, and education of the early Greeks, and to 
show how their culture and art were spread. 

The pupils' aim was to find out how the lives of these early 
people have influenced the ideas, customs, and education of the 
people of to-day. 

Materials 

The materials placed in the hands of the pupils were : All 
available histories and geography books. (In the principal's 
office were many sample copies with unusually good illustrations.) 

Stories of the Greeks. 

Large, mounted pictures of Greece: (Found in town li- 
brary.) 

Material brought in by pupils were : Pictures and clippings 
from magazines and newspapers which told anything of interest 
about Greece; either ancient or modern. 

Small prints — about 2" by 5" — of famous Greek pictures. 

A child's version of the Iliad and Odyssey. Materials used 
in constructing the scene on the sand table. 

Activities 

The first step was, of course, to discover from our history 
and other books the most important facts connected with the his- 

61 



tory of Greece. Since we were looking them up for the purpose 
of putting them to a definite use, they were not mere facts, but 
a means to an end. 

After the situation in ancient Greece was understood and 
each phase discussed in its relation to the present, we divided the 
story, from the beginning of Greek history to Alexander's con- 
quest of the country, into the following parts : 

I. Effect of the geography of Greece on the people of 
the county. 

2. Effect of early Greek civilization on the ideas and 
customs of the present. 

3. Early inventions. 

4. Expansion of Greece. 

5. The First Persian Invasion. 

6. The Second Persian Invasion. 

7. Pericles. **• 

8. Socrates. 

9. How the Athenians and Spartans lived. 
10. Description of Atliens. 

II. Alexander the Great. 

These titles, after much class discussion, were suggested by 
the children, and the above outline used as an aid by which each 
child might tell the story of the Greeks in his own way, in a note- 
book given him for the purpose. The notebooks were to be as 
original as possible. Each child had several maps, small pictures, 
and newspaper clippings pasted beside the stories. Those who 
drcAv well put little sketches in appropriate places, i. e., a Greek 
ship, the Acropolis, etc. Pupils who had a grade of ninety or 
over for the month received a Perry picture, and these also were 
placed in the notebooks. On the covers were sketches sugges- 
tive of the contents. In this way each child not only had the 
stories told briefly in his own way, but had also an attractive 
book which he will enjoy having on the top of his desk when the 
school exhibit is held in June. 

As Athens was described we studied it with the idea in 
mind of constructing the Acropolis and its surroundings on the 
sandtable. In a short time two temples were brought in, which 
the children had made at home from small pieces of wood. The 
buildings were very neatly made and were painted white to 
represent marble. As one was larger than the other we used it 
for the Parthenon, and used the smaller one for the Theseum. 

Then came our first difficulty. We could not decide how 
to build an Acropolis which would be strong enough to hold 
the temples and statues. The children tried several schemes. 
Finally they brought some stones from the playground, built a 
hill, and covered the stones with clay. This we decided would 

62 



be firm and strong and would present the rough appearance 
desired. Leading up to the top of the hill were steps made of 
wood and painted white. In and about the temples were small 
statues, some brought from home, others modeled from clay. 

At the beginning of our work on the sand table we had 
planted some grass seed in the sand about the Acropohs. This 
now began to grow — splendidly in some places, not at all in 
others. As the streets of Athens were very crooked we laid 
them out, with small pebbles, wherever the grass had not grown. 
Different members of the class then made Greek houses, low, 
with flat roofs, from either wood or cardboard. 

The drawing teacher, who had been much interested in the 
project and had given us many good suggestions, used a draw- 
ing period to make the theatre which was built against the side 
of the y\cropolis. The first, built of stones and covered with 
clay was too large. The second, made of putty, was too small. 
The problem was solved at last by cutting several pieces of card- 
board^ in the shape of a semicircle, glueing them together, and 
covering them with clay. This was done by two of the slowest, 
most troublesome boys in the room. 

We had left at one end of the table, a few inches of sand 
with no grass or moisture in it. This represented the beach, and 
a bit of tissue paper, painted a greenish blue, and left rather 
loose under the edge of the sand at the extreme end of the table, 
suggested the bay on which was located Pirccus, the port of 
Athens. 

We next made a class booklet for exhibit, copying one well- 
written topic from the notebooks oi different pupils, pasting in 
our snap shots, maps and pictures. A boy who draws unusually 
well made the cover, putting on it a pencil sketch of the Acropolis 
and printing the words "Ancient Greece." 

During this time the reading teacher had given the class the 
Greek Hero Stories, and I had read to them during morning 
exercises the Iliad and Odyssey, simplv told. 

Many of our ideas for the sand table were derived from 
the model at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Some of 
the children have since been to the Museum. Others have the 
trip promised to them as a holiday or birthday treat. 

Course oe Study 

The project provided for history, geography and reading, 
for it was from these three subjects that most of our facts were 
ohtained. English, spelling, penmanship, and drawing were used 
in the notebooks, and manual training and drawing on the sand 
table. Arithmetic was used very little, — only for measurements 
and proportion. 

63 



RESUI.TS 

1. Definite ideas in the minds of the pupils of Athens and 
of the people who built it. 

2. List of twenty customs, inventions, etc., of the present 
day which can be traced to Greek influence 

3. Pupils learned to select important facts from subject 
matter. 

4. Learned to be alert for pictures, clippings, etc. In 
order to do this they had to read papers and magazines. 

5. Pupils learned to collect and organize materials. 

6. Gained appreciation of good literature through Hero 
Stories, Iliad, and Odyssey. 

7. Became familiar with several famous pictures. As a 
result we have since earned money and purchased two pictures 
for our room. 

8. All were interested and proud of the finished work. 
When the English teacher wished to use the sand table to illus- 
trate a story, the children could hardly be persuaded to take down 
the Acropolis. It had then been finished for nearly a month. 

9. Every child in the room had a part in several phases of 
the project. 



Reconstruction of Europe 

Katheryn M. Parker and Clara A. Brady, Sixth Grade, 
Freehold, N. J. 
Situation 

We found the Project Method a very interesting and eflfec- 
tive way of teaching. Our project was in the form of a Play 
entitled "The Reconstruction of Europe." 

Miss Ruby Minor's- article on "Rebuilding Europe," pub- 
lished in the Normal Instructor and Primary Plans, gave us the 
idea. But w^e wanted the suggestion to come from the pupils, so 
we decided to have a conversational lesson on the condition of 
Europe since the War, the countries involved, the ones that suf- 
fered most and what should be done to rebuild them. 

No one suggested a play, so we were compelled to give them 
the idea. After "Play" was mentioned, however, they were 
more than enthusiastic. The name was suggested by a boy 
who had brought in a picture called "Reconstruction Begun' in 
France." 

Geneva as the seat of the League of Nations was decided 
upon as a suitable place for the scene to be laid. 



64 



Activities 

A whole period was devoted to the work of organization. 
The pupils were asked what characteristics all of the people would 
have to show if they were to carry on this work. Finally the 
Spirits of Reconstruction, Skill, Courage, Education, Material, 
Industry and Gaiety were given by the class. The speeches of 
the Spirits were worked out as oral and written composition. 

Most of the Play was based on their geography work. The 
pupils realized they would have to study each country pretty 
thoroughly to decide in what ways each one could help most. 

All of the countries were studied by the problem and special 
topic method. The pupils felt there was some purpose in study- 
ing their geography lessons and there was much interest in the 
work. A great deal of outside reading was necessary. The 
pupils brought many books from, home and used the pubHc library 
continually for information. 

After each country was studied the children wrote the 
speech for that particular country as an English lesson. The 
speeches were read and criticized in class. Good and bad points 
were discussed and the final speech put on the board. Some- 
times a whole speech would be chosen, but nearly always the 
pupils selected good sentences from different papers. As the 
work proceeded there was great improvement in sentence struc- 
ture, choice of words and use of English. These speeches were 
saved, as the pupils had previously decided to write up the Play 
in booklet form. In the drawing class, designs were made for 
the booklet covers and the Play arranged in dramatic form. 

While the writing of the Play was in progress, the national 
songs and dances of each country were studied to put the children 
in a sympathetic frame of mind with the people they were study- 
ing. Many of the pupils brought the songs in, and some of 
them made collections of them as well as collections of the flags 
of the different nations and pictures of the costumes. The sing- 
ing period was devoted to the learning of the songs, and the 
verses were used as poems for language- study. 

In many cases the significance of the dances were brought 
out as. the Vineyard Danca in France or the Spanish Tambourine 
dance. We were fortunate in having several children from 
European countries to take part in these dances. 

The costumes were attended to entirely by the pupils. The 
knowledge of them was gained by reading, pictures and descrip- 
tions by other people. Then they were made in the sewing class 
by the pupils under the direction of the sewing teacher. 

In the beginning it was planned to give the play in the class- 
rooms : then we decided to have it in the auditorium ; but the 
theatre in our town was finally decided upon, since it had taken 

65 



SO much time and money to produce it and seemed « 021 349 544 
Since the sixth grade class is divided into two divisions, it was 
decided to let each division attend to different things. For in- 
stance, the 6B division prepared the tickets and announcements 
for the local papers, while the 6A division made the programs, 
and both classes prepared the posters. This work was done in 
the English and drawing periods. Other tickets were examined 
and significant facts about them were brought out. Then a 
ticket was planned by each member of the class and the best one 
was chosen by the pupils. The announcements for the paper 
were done in the same way. Committees were appointed who 
went to the three local papers and found out where they could get 
the work done cheapest and reported it to the class. This was 
done to bring as many children into activity as possible. 

In preparing programs, one pupil acted as chairman. He 
appointed various committees, such as, the cover committee, 
songs, dances, main characters, etc. The duty of tfie cover com- 
mittee was to look up old programs and decide what was best 
for the cover of the program. Another committee looked after 
the printing, etc. 

Six of the best pupils in drawing were chosen to make the 
posters and all the class assisted in bringing in pictures for them 
to use. 

Comment 

There were several very good results from this project. In 
the first place the main aim was reahzed, namely, to interest the 
pupils in their work and to vitalize the study of Europe. It 
taught the close connection between Europe and America and 
their interdependence. Their interest in European geography 
has carried over into Asiatic geography. 

They learned to have a kind feeling for foreigners and 
showed it again and again in their dealings with foreign born 
children in the class. 

Practicing for the play was real recreation for them, for 
they enjoyed the songs and dances so much. Also, it was a real 
work of Americanization. Finally it netted one hundred 
seventy-five dollars to be used, at the suggestion of the pupils, 
for school supplies. 

Editor's Comment 

It is impossible to present the play in full. The following 
portion of Act I, Scene i, will, it is hoped, give a hint of what 
may be accomplished by sixth grade children. 



66 






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